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 Kesakichi, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die.
I've written about the 1983 version with the same title, and while both films are based on the same book they really have a personality of their own. This one was directed by Keisuke Kinoshita (Twenty-Four Eyes) and is such a beautiful, fascinating film. The story revolves around a real-life practice called ubasute, senicide, where an elderly relative was carried off into the mountains and left there to die.
The whole film is also, as stated above, shot in the style of a Kabuki play with the accompanying narrator (benchi) and it gives the film a mythical feel, while also giving you the sense that you're at the theatre. It's done pretty much perfectly, and for its time the film is a wonder to behold. I'm always big on colors and Narayama constantly gives you that wonderful, grainy aesthetic with very warm colors not unlike Kwaidan (1964). I'm praising the look of the film but the story is equally good with a thought-provoking narrative full of shocking family morals being laid bare. An instant classic, in my opinion.
Genre: Drama. 1h 38m
