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Mother (1952 film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Mother
| image = Okaasan.jpg
| caption = Publicity image for the movie 'Mother'
| director = Mikio Naruse
| producer = Ichiro Nagashima
| writer = Yko Mizuki
| starring =
| music = Ichir Sait
| cinematography = Hiroshi Suzuki
| editing = Hidetoshi Kasama
| studio = Shintoho
| distributor = Toho
| released =
| runtime = 98 minutes
| country = Japan
| language = Japanese
}}
is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Kinuyo Tanaka in the title role. The screenplay by Yko Mizuki is based on the prize-winning entry of a school essay-writing competition.
Plot
Told from the viewpoint of Toshiko, the second child of three of the Fukuhara family, the film depicts her mother Masako's struggles during the post-war years. First Masako loses her son, who fell ill from working in a velvet cloth shop, then her husband Ryosaku, who ruined his health from overworking during the war. Ryosaku's friend Kimura joins the family's laundry shop, showing Masako how to handle the business, watched warily by Toshiko who objects the idea that her mother might marry him. To reduce the Fukuhara's financial hardships, and because they are childless after losing their son in the war, Ryosaku's brother and his wife adopt the younger daughter Chako. Kimura finally leaves the business to open his own laundry shop in Chiba, and Toshiko and young baker Shinjiro muse about getting married one day. Watching her mother play with her little cousin Tetsu, Toshiko wonders if she is happy, wishing that she will live a long life.
Cast
* Kinuyo Tanaka as Masako Fukuhara
* Kyko Kagawa as Toshiko Fukuhara
* Eiji Okada as Shinjiro
* Daisuke Kat as Kimura
* Yafu Mishima as Ryosaku Fukuhara
* Nakabe Chieko as Noriko, Masako's sister
* Eiko Miyoshi as Ryosaku's mother
* Chieko Nakakita as Noriko
Reception
Film historian Donald Richie called 'Mother' one of Naruse's best films, but also an atypical one, because the protagonists escape the tragedy that usually hangs above Naruse's characters. Naruse biographer Catherine Russell noted a higher degree of sentimentality in this film compared to other works by the director of this period.
'Mother' was screened in Paris in 1954 and received the attention of critics like Andr Bazin and the writers of the 'Cahiers du cinma'.
Awards
1953 - Blue Ribbon Awards
* Best Director Mikio Naruse
* Best Supporting Actor Daisuke Kat
1953 Mainichi Film Award
* Best Film Score Ichir Sait
* Best Supporting Actor Daisuke Kat
* Best Supporting Actress Kyko Kagawa
References
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