The Ballad of Narayama

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The Ballad of Narayama ★★★★ Narayama-Bushi-Ko 1983

Director Imamura's subtle and vastly moving story takes place a vague century ago. In compliance with village law designed to control population among the poverty-stricken peasants, a healthy 70-year-old woman must submit to solitary starvation atop a nearby mountain. We follow her as she sets into motion the final influence she will have in the lives of her children and grandchildren, a situation described with detachment and without imposing a tragic perspective. In Japanese with English subtitles. 129m/C VHS . JP Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Takejo Aki, Tonpei Hidari, Shoichi Ozawa; D: Shohei Imamura; W: Shohei Imamura; C: Maseo Tochizawa; M: Shinichiro Ikebe. Cannes '83: Film.

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