Nuages flottants

Hideko Takamine and Masayuki Mori had an affair in Indo-China during the Second World War. Now they have returned to a conquered Japan, he to his wife and she to nothing. But they still love each other, although she more than he.

The idea of a woman sacrificing herself for a man, unworthy though he be -- as all men are -- in a "He'll be sorry when I'm dead!" mood, is certainly not unique to Japanese cinema, although Western culture tends to tack on a "Reader, I married him" happy ending. Even so, I often blink and tell myself "I give them six weeks." Either that, or it's MarySue fanfiction of the bleariest sort.

In short, this strikes me as what used to be called shopgirl fiction, piffle, and unworthy of Naruse, whose narratives of downtrodden women suffering in a misogynistic Japan speak of real problems, real anguish. Yes, he gave this movie his usual attention to detail. Yes, Hideko Takamine gives one of her sterling performances, and yes, Masayuki Mori gives a performance that, like many a Naruse film, smacks less of sympathy for the downtrodden than misandry. But piffle is piffle, and it's only by remembering that film is first and foremost commercial art, that this makes sense; it's a shopgirl movie from a novel by Fumiko Hayashi (1903-1951).

She was born the daughter of a poor peddler -- somehow "poor" is always attached to the noun, as if we think of guys who have to tramp hither and yon to sell their cheap wares, as eccentric millionaires. She tried to commit suicide on several occasions. By the end of the Second World War, she was Japan's top novelist; government-sponsored trips to China in which she reported that things were great kept her in the public eye. This was the fifth novel of hers that Naruse had made into a movie, and those are also highly regarded. I like the ones I've seen a lot, particularly MESHED.

This one, however, is shopgirl piffle, even though it is shopgirl piffle of the highest order.

I absolutely love this film... in fact it is my favourite film. It's hard therefore to come to terms with some of the less than stellar reviews here, although ultimately we all have differing tastes and I'd be the first to admit that this is not for folk who require lots of action or who are intolerant of romantic drama. However I would argue that it is a film of considerable depth and even importance. In Japan, this film has long sat in the "Kinema Junpo" list of greatest movies of the twentieth century... at number 3, beaten only by Ozu's "Tokyo Story" and Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai".

The director, Mikio Naruse, is often referred to as the "other" great director of the postwar "golden age" of Japanese cinema, alongside Ozu, Kurosawa and Mizoguchi. His films are emphatically not for action junkies, being closest in pace and themes to those of Yasujiro Ozu, although lacking Ozu's distinctive flair for visual composition. They are however characterised by what is often referred to as "naturalistic pessimism", in which their usually female protagonists generally engage in an ultimately futile battle against the hand that fate has dealt them. So, another demographic that will not enjoy his work are optimists. Most of his films are in closed domestic or "water trade" (hospitality) scenarios and focussed relentlessly but fatalistically on familial dysfunction, together with the material imperatives of money and it's scarcity.

"Floating Clouds", or "Ukigumo", is however the one Naruse film that has managed to appeal to a wider audience than most of his work.

On the surface, this is simply a romantic melodrama involving very flawed human beings.. but one which is rooted in the Japanese experience of conquest, war, defeat and occupation. It powerfully conveys the grim realities of the occupation years, but also hints at colonial guilt and the emotional costs of national defeat. As in all Naruse films, money and material hardships are never far from the focus.. but into this is this... well, love story. Or hate story. Or tale of self-loathing. It is an adaptation of a novel by Fumiko Hayashi, who appears to have shared Naruse's pessimism about life, since the director adapted several of her stories for the screen and even made a filmic biography of her ("A Wanderer's Notebook", aka "Her Lonely Lane", 1962).

This film has a far more open feeling than one usually gets with Naruse. There is more outdoor shooting and a far wider variety of sets. Ranging from the humid jungles of "Indo China" (Vietnam) through a cold and ruined Tokyo to a Southern seaport on Kyushu (Kagoshima) and a rain drenched island on the edge of the archipelago, there is no more peripatetic Naruse film. There are more actors too, although the focus never strays from the two principals, "Yukiko" (Hideko Takamine) and "Tomioka" (Masayuki Mori).

A huge part of this movie's appeal lies in the performances of Takamine and Mori. Hideko Takamine was one of the three greatest mid-century female Japanese actors, alongside Setsuko Hara and Kinuyo Tanaka, and enjoyed an extraordinary level of affection from the public over a career that began as a very young child in the 1920s and ended in the late 1970s. Here, she is magnificent.... it is simply hard to believe that what you are watching is "acting". Every feeling she displays.. and there are many.. is utterly visceral and totally believable... while Mori, unquestionably one of the most accomplished of Japan's male cinema actors, also gives one of the greatest performances of his career.

I read that Takamine was originally reluctant to accept the role of "Yukiko", but Naruse's insistence has left us with what is undoubtedly one of the greatest performances in all of Japanese Cinema. She had an extraordinary facility for "silent emoting" that is best seen in her work for Naruse, and emphatically so here. Watch out for the "kiss scene", and her breathtakingly powerful yet wordless reaction.

There are some strong supporting performances as well from Daisuke Kato, Isao Yamagata and Mariko Okada, and some wonderful little vignettes that are best withheld in the interest of avoiding spoilers, but which help imbue the film with it's powerful sense of time and place. Like Kurosawa's "Rashomon" this film deploys "back and forth" time shifting to tell a tale that largely takes place in the immediate postwar period, but also harks back to a colonial experience prior to Japan's defeat.

It is to my eyes a fabulous tale, enacted to the highest standard, and within the context of the immediate postwar moment. It holds a special place in the affections of many Japanese precisely because of the exemplary melding of history and emotion. However, even though this is as frenetic and action packed as a Naruse film ever gets, it still demands, and rewards, patience. These films were made for a more reflective and less distracted audience than the typical modern cinema crowd, and that includes those of Japan. By the second half of the 1960s, the "golden age" was over, with the film-making of the old masters like Naruse seen as too slow and anachronistic. What a legacy though.... If you have seen and enjoyed "Tokyo Story" (aka "the greatest Japanese film ever made"), then try this.... More melodramatic, certainly, less distinctive visually, but with an epic scale, always measured and beautifully acted... and speaking far more directly to the long national agony of Japan under militarism and occupation.

This is a story about a couple who met in French Indo-China working for the Forestry Department for Japan. The story is ultimately about the time they spend once they return to Japan, which is somewhat tumultuous, as her is married. They do not spend the whole film together, at times Tomioka is with his wife and he even leaves Yukiko for another still younger woman, Osei. If this sounds like a tear-jerking soap opera, it kind of is. However, the movie is a powerful tale of love, betrayal and obsession. The beautiful Hideko Takamine (at times, I don't think she was ever more beautiful in a film) is excellent in a very challenging role, conjuring raw emotions often. At times you are torn between them even wanting to be together and I think that is what gives the film its compelling nature. If you are not fond of heavy drama, this is not your film. I feel the acting is superb (again, especially Ms. Takamine) and the story very watchable. Another great film by Mikio Naruse.

Another Mikio Naruse film, which means it's kind of long and very slow throughout... but also features great acting, plenty of technical skill behind the camera, and some quietly affecting emotional scenes.

Part of me wonders whether his films about regret, growing old, and feeling despondent will hit harder when I'm older and am more plagued with wasting time when I was younger; time I'll never get back. Time wasted on watching movies and then spewing out words than form messy opinions on them, for example.

If this app is still a thing in 20-30 years, maybe I'll revisit this and provide an update then lol.

Ukigumo (1955), directed by Mikio Naruse, was shown as "Floating Clouds" at the Dryden Theatre in Rochester as part of a Naruse retrospective. This is Naruse's best-known film, and it stars his muse, the outstanding actor Hideko Takamine. The film is adapted from a novel by Fumiko Hayashi. Seven or eight of Naruse's films were based on novels by this author. Finally, many of the Toho studio supporting players appear in this movie, as they do in all of Naruse's films. In summary, "Floating Clouds" is classic Naruse.

As in many Naruse films, the theme is grim. Japan is still struggling in the aftermath of World War II. The economy is slow, and the pall of defeat still hangs over the country.

Although we think of the war as totally tragic for everyone involved--especially everyone Japanese--this isn't accurate. Hideko Takamine's character (Yukiko) had a passionate and sincere wartime romance with an engineer when they were both stationed in an area away from the combat zone. It becomes clear--ten years later--that this love affair was the high point of both their lives. Masuki Mori plays Kengo, the engineer who loves Yukiko, but who will never marry her.

The tragedy of the film is that both Yukiko and Kengo have known happiness, but realize they will never know it again. Such happiness as they can grasp is undone by the harsh realities of financial and physical problems.

This movie is not exactly a masterpiece, but it is the perfect film if you can only see one work by Naruse. It defines his themes, demonstrates his unique skills and extraordinary expertise, and showcases the best actors in his company. It's a movie worth seeking out and watching.