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There are many films in Mikio Naruse‘s extensive filmography that centre on mothers and the hardships they endure, but few are as touching as “Mother“. Part of this emotional impact comes from the story being partly told through the eyes of young Toshiko. For once, the generation gap is not a source of conflict – Toshiko feels only love and admiration for her combative mother, Masako (Kinuyo Tanaka). More broadly, although the family faces many difficulties, it remains fundamentally healthy and united – another reason why “Mother” stands out in Naruse’s body of work.

Mother is screening at Metrograph as part of the Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us program

This may be due to the film’s origins: it was adapted from a child’s story that won a competition organised by a confectionery company in collaboration with Toho, which might explain the innocence and sentimentality that permeate the film.

She smokes, she drinks, she fights back: here is Oshima. Do not trust her angelic face and her calm Nippon manners; beneath her kimono beats the fiercest determination. Nothing remarkable by today’s standards, but it was undeniably subversive attitude in a movie shot in 1957, especially for a story set in pre-war Japan at the height of tradition and paternalism.

Sincerity is screening at Japan Society as part of the Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us program

After her first marriage ends in divorce following her escape from the marital home, Shima remarries Tsuru: a handsome but inept canned goods store owner based in Kanda, Tokyo. As he married only to secure someone to run the business in place of his late wife, the loveless marriage does not last long; soon, he begins a relationship with a concubine, Oyuri, a former lover he had not dared marry because of higher social standing.

Tomu Uchida’s Bloody Spear At Mount Fuji (1955) will be available on Blu-ray September 4th from Arrow Academy

Praised by Japanese film critics and much admired by his contemporaries Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu, Tomu Uchida nonetheless remains a little-known in the west. His 1955 masterpiece Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is an excellent entry point for the newcomer. Set during the Edo period, Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is a tragicomic road movie of sorts, following a samurai, his two servants – including spear-carrier Genpachi (Chiezô Kataoka) – and the various people they meet on their journey, including a policeman in pursuit of a thief, a young child and a woman who is to be sold into prostitution. Winner of a prestigious Blue Ribbon Award for supporting actor – and Kurosawa regular – Daisuke Katô, Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is a film deserving of much wider international recognition.

Bonus Materials High Definition Blu-ray...

Praised by Japanese film critics and much admired by his contemporaries Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu, Tomu Uchida nonetheless remains a little-known in the west. His 1955 masterpiece Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is an excellent entry point for the newcomer.

Set during the Edo period, “Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji” is a tragicomic road movie of sorts, following a samurai, his two servants – including spear-carrier Genpachi (Chiezô Kataoka) – and the various people they meet on their journey, including a policeman in pursuit of a thief, a young child and a woman who is to be sold into prostitution.

Winner of a prestigious Blue Ribbon Award for supporting actor – and Kurosawa regular – Daisuke Katô, Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is a film deserving of much wider international recognition.

Special Edition Contents

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation

Original uncompressed mono audio

Optional newly translated English subtitles

Brand-new audio commentary...