The final work in the career of the legendary Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Shimizu, "Image of a Mother" (Haha no Omokage), is a rare scope feature that I believe was only recently recovered. It is a tender story that follows a little boy named Michio, struggling with his widowed father's new arranged marriage while mourning the loss of his mother. Shimizu presents death and grief seen through the eyes of an innocent child trying to adapt to a new stepmother and stepsister.
Michio refuses to let go of the memory of his late mother, even though everyone around him urges him to forget her, to hide her picture in a drawer, and to quickly move on and embrace his father's new wife, Sonoko, as his new mother. Michio's friends and family cannot understand why he is unable to move on, as all of them have done long ago. However, things simply aren't that easy for a boy of such a young age. It takes time, patience, and a whole lot of love for a child to get over the death of a maternal figure. Time, patience and love that Sonoko tries her hardest to provide for Michio, but to no avail.
Hiroshi Shimizu accurately and gently depicts childhood innocence, family dynamics shaken by loss, and a woman's efforts to be a good mother, to love and to be loved back. Sonoko does her best to present herself as the perfect symbol of motherhood. She spoils Michio and is extremely nice, caring and loving towards him, as an attempt to be a reflection or an image of a mother, his mother. Michio appreciates his new mother's love and even calls Emiko (Sonoko's daughter) by 'sister', but he cannot call Sonoko 'mother' nor interact with her the way a child interacts with their parent. He believes that, by accepting her gifts and calling her 'mom', he would be betraying the memory of his dead mother, forever replacing and forgetting her.
Michio doesn't mean to be rude, disrespectful or inconsiderate. He knows Sonoko loves him and he likes having her and Emiko around. But him refusing to acknowledge Sonoko as his new mother, him greeting a picture of his late mother everyday, him playing with the pigeon that she gave him for his birthday before she passed-these are Michio's ways of preserving the image of his mother. However, his attitude and the distance between him and Sonoko cause great emotional distress within the family. And the climax of "Image of a Mother" is a heartbreaking scene where Michio resorts to violence and hurts Emiko after learning that she accidentally freed his pigeon. While this chaos unfolds, Sonoko can only crouch there in fear and shame of her failure as a mother, covering her ears and shutting her eyes closed without knowing what to do.
After Michio is taken to the police station for being out at night alone looking for his pigeon, Sonoko is called to the school to speak with his teacher. She is handed a letter that he wrote explaining his complex feelings and emotions during this period of grief and change. "Image of a Mother" then offers an emotionally devastating scene where the whole family reacts to the letter in tears, while Michio reads it in a heartbreaking voice-over. This scene resembles the ending of "Yi Yi" a lot, and it is just as powerful. After all that's happened, Sonoko finds it better to stay away for a while, and leaves with Emiko.
However, in a final scene that will have you bawling your eyes out as it had mine, Michio follows Sonoko and begs her not to leave while addressing her as 'mom'. At last, he has finally acknowledged Sonoko as his mother, but not because he was forced to do so. Michio does this because he finally realizes that all of his pain was being passed on to others. In his grief, he was hurting Sonoko, Emiko and his father Sadao, who only tried to love and support him. Michio finally understands that he can have two mothers, one alive in reality, and one never forgotten in memory. For a mother is a woman who loves and cares for her child, biological or not. Sonoko's love made her Michio's mother, and he finally accepted it.
Chikage Awashima gives a fantastic performance as Sonoko, a role that represents all mothers. And Michihiro Mori reaches the same heights with a genuine and pure portrayal of a child confused by loss. Hiroshi Shimizu's contemplative images capture the loneliness and isolation of both protagonists, Michio in his inability to move on from the past, and Sonoko in her desperate attempts for him to love her as his mother. "Image of a Mother" is composed of long takes with both static and lateral tracking shots, beautifully complemented by soothing melodies. Every element of this project feels carefully crafted and polished by a master who has perfected his filmmaking, which is fitting for the final film of Shimizu. If "Image of a Mother" were better known and accessible to more viewers, it would undoubtedly be as loved and critically acclaimed as an Ozu picture.
A poignant work of love and memory, and a beautiful farewell to the magnificent career of Hiroshi Shimizu.
