Die Ballade von Narayama

One of the best films I have ever seen. Teaches you how to love your parents and kids. The cast and photography are amazing. A must see movie. As for the previous comment from US on this film - isn't USA a country where the elderly are sent to nursing homes to die, often stripped off their dignity? So, go visit your granny or mommy...

This is one of the most beautiful and moving motion pictures I have ever seen. The extreme hardships faced by the people in this story are presented frankly and unsentimentally. The cinematography is absolutely exquisite, particularly the last 10-15 minutes. Although the film never gives in to or panders to sentimentality (sentimentality, Imamura?), the end is really a tear-jerker. As much as I hate to make lists of my "favorite things", this movie would definitely rate among my top ten of all times. Do yourself a favor and see this movie!

Having watched both versions of Ballad of Narayama I came to the conclusion that neither movie is truly great but if elements of both were to be combined it would create the perfect blend. I still enjoy both films quite a lot, it's just that they could've been more. The main advantage of this version is the great cinematography and the use of real life locations. The 1958 movie looks great too and the sets are fantastic in it but this version in my opinion is more impressive with the beautiful shots of real scenery. Additionally, I enjoyed the often metaphorical footage of animals and nature. On top of that I much prefer the way that this story was told as the main drawback of the original Ballad to me was the kabuki style storytelling which thankfully the newer one dispenses with.

However, what the first Ballad did much, much better was that it made me feel for its characters a lot more. That movie is shorter and yet the characters are more realised and when the ending comes and the inevitable has to happen it made me really sad. In this 1983 version the final choice didn't have the same impact due to me not caring as much about the people. On top of that the main matriarch was played much more sympathetically in the older film, thanks to the actress which helped to add to the emotional punch that the movie was aiming for. Instead of focusing on doing more to make the viewer care for the inhabitants of the village the newer Ballad instead opts for the inclusion of a plethora of mostly comedic sex scenes which whilst often amusing can be a bit too much. I understand that it's a bit of a trademark of director Imamura to do this and I don't have a problem with it but I just wish he substituted some of those scenes with others or made the movie longer to add more of the much needed emotion. All in all this is a very good movie, as is the first one but I still think there is room for another go at this story which if done right has the potential to be better than both its predecessors.

With beautiful photography and sensitive, elegant acting, this is perhaps the best exploration of what it means to be human. As usual, Shohei Imamura draws direct parallels between the basic drives & instincts (hunger, greed, lust, anger, envy) of people and other animals. I have friends who have walked out of this movie because they found these comparisons so depressing when shown in the desperately poor rural Japan during the late 19th century. What they missed was the core intelligence, caring, self sacrifice, clear thinking and love that enabled that community, and by extension the human race, to survive such difficult times.

This sympathetic portrayal of a family in a rural village is the best of ten films I have seen from Imamura, with an epic scale of Akira Kurosawa and all of the subtlety of Ozu.

"Ballad of Narayama" is ultimately a film about survival.

Set during the Meiji Period, the inhabitants of a tiny Japanese farming village are forced to embrace extreme tactics to ensure that they stay alive.

Male babies are instantly killed with hardly any remorse, while females are usually sold. Stealing food is punishable by death, which we see in a very disturbing scene where an entire family are buried alive due their father's crime.

And, ultimately, the elderly are sent to die at the base of a mountain called Narayama when they reach the age of 70.

Despite the depressing tone, there is a lot of humor in this film, as well. The songs that the villagers sing about each other are pretty funny, and it's difficult not to laugh at Old Orin trying to knock her own teeth out with a rock.

Speaking of Old Orin, the actress who player her (Sumiko Sakamoto) gives a wonderful performance in this film. She had her teeth surgically removed for this role, and gives a realistic depiction of a 70-year-old woman even though she was in her 40s when the film was made.

"Ballad of Narayama" is indeed a depressing film in many aspects, but it's also filled with humor and offers a better understanding of what life must be like in these types of situations.