family relationships,dying traditions,social convention

The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

Poster for The Ballad of Narayama

In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Granny Orin is approaching 70, content to embrace her fate. Her widowed son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing his mother, even as she arranges his marriage to a widow his age. Her grandson Kesa, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die. Around them, a family of thieves are dealt with severely, and an old man, past 70, whose son has cast him out, scrounges for food. Will Orin's loving and accepting spirit teach and ennoble her family?

Cast & Crew

Director
Keisuke Kinoshita
  • Profile picture of Kinuyo Tanaka
    Orin Kinuyo Tanaka
  • Profile picture of Teiji Takahashi
    Tatsuhei Teiji Takahashi
  • Profile picture of Yūko Mochizuki
    Tamayan Yūko Mochizuki
  • Profile picture of Seiji Miyaguchi
    Matayan Seiji Miyaguchi
  • Profile picture of Yūnosuke Itō
    Matayan's son Yūnosuke Itō
  • Profile picture of Danko Ichikawa
    Kesakichi Danko Ichikawa
  • Profile picture of Eijirō Tōno
    Messenger Eijirō Tōno
  • Profile picture of Kō Nishimura
    One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited) Kō Nishimura

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Keywords

  • family relationships
  • dying traditions
  • social convention