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The Ballad of Narayama
The Ballad of Narayama
  1. Movies
  2. The Ballad of Narayama

The Ballad of Narayama

Original Title: 楢山節考

1958
1h 38m
Drama

Status

Released

Release

1958

Runtime

1h 38m

Where to Watch

Available options inUS

Provider type

Streaming

1
Criterion Channel

Rent

3
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Fandango At Home

Buy

3
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Fandango At Home
Streaming data provided byJustWatch
Updated daily

Storyline

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?

Score Distribution

Details

Status
Released
Runtime
1h 38m
Jun 1, 1958
Languages
Japanese
Director
Keisuke Kinoshita
Keisuke Kinoshita
Production
Shochiku
Shochiku
Production Countries
Japan

Top Cast

13 Cast Members

Kinuyo Tanaka

Kinuyo Tanaka

Orin

Teiji Takahashi

Teiji Takahashi

Tatsuhei

Yūko Mochizuki

Yūko Mochizuki

Tamayan

Seiji Miyaguchi

Seiji Miyaguchi

Matayan

Yūnosuke Itō

Yūnosuke Itō

Matayan's son

Ken Mitsuda

Teruyan

Danko Ichikawa

Danko Ichikawa

Kesakichi

Keiko Ogasawara

Matsu-yan

Eijirō Tōno

Eijirō Tōno

Messenger

Kō Nishimura

Kō Nishimura

One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)

Katsuyuki Hattori

Tatsuhei's son (uncredited)

Tokuji Kobayashi

Tokuji Kobayashi

One of the villagers who teaches Narayama's manners (uncredited)

Masao Oda

Masao Oda

One of the villagers who teaches Narayama's manners (uncredited)

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