The Ballad of Narayama

The Ballad of Narayama

Release Date: 1958-06-01
Language: JA
Country: 🇯🇵 JP
Rating: ⭐ 7.5 / 10 ( 82 votes )
Runtime: 1h 38m

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?

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Where to Watch

Criterion Channel
Criterion Channel
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Amazon Video
Amazon Video
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Apple TV
Apple TV
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Fandango At Home
Fandango At Home
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Amazon Video
Amazon Video
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Apple TV
Apple TV
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Fandango At Home
Fandango At Home
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Cast

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
No Photo
Ken Mitsuda
Teruyan
Danko Ichikawa
Danko Ichikawa
Kesakichi
No Photo
Keiko Ogasawara
Matsu-yan
Eijirō Tōno
Eijirō Tōno
Messenger
Kō Nishimura
Kō Nishimura
One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)
No Photo
Katsuyuki Hattori
Tatsuhei's son (uncredited)
Tokuji Kobayashi
Tokuji Kobayashi
One of the villagers who teaches Narayama's manners (uncredited)

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