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The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

7.5 | Jun 01, 1958 (JP) | Drama | 01:38

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?

Featured Crew

Director, Writer
Original Music Composer
Production Design
Assistant Director
Sound Recordist
Art Direction
Director of Photography
Producer

Cast

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Yūnosuke Itō
Matayan's son
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Ken Mitsuda
Teruyan
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Danko Ichikawa
Kesakichi
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Keiko Ogasawara
Matsu-yan
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Eijirō Tōno
Messenger
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Kō Nishimura
One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)