The Ballad of Narayama (楢山節考) is a 1983 Japanese film by director Shōhei Imamura. It stars Sumiko Sakamoto as Orin, Ken Ogata, and Shoichi Ozawa. It is an adaptation of the book Narayama bushikō by Shichirō Fukazawa and slightly inspired by the 1958 film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. Both films explore the legendary practice of ubasute, in which elderly people were carried to a mountain and abandoned to die. Imamura's film won the Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.

Production

The Ballad of Narayama was filmed in Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture.

Plot

The film is set in a small rural village in 19th century Japan. According to tradition, once a person reaches the age of 70, he or she must travel to a remote mountain to die of starvation, a practice known as ubasute. The story concerns Orin, who is 69 and in sound health. However, she notes that a neighbor had to drag his father to the mountain, so she resolves to avoid clinging to life beyond her term. She spends a year arranging all the affairs of her family and village, severely punishing a family hoarding food and helping her younger son lose his virginity. The film contains harsh scenes depicting the brutal conditions faced by the villagers. Interspersed between episodes in the film are brief vignettes of nature—birds, snakes, and other animals hunting, watching, singing, copulating, or giving birth.

Cast

Box office

Upon its Japanese release in 1983, the film earned ¥1.05 billion in distributor rentals and ¥1.79 billion in gross receipts, equivalent to million ticket sales. Overseas, the film sold 21.1 million tickets in the Soviet Union, 844,077 tickets in France upon release in 1983, and 1,696 tickets in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain between 1996 and 2018, for a combined estimated total of approximately million tickets sold worldwide.

Awards

Anecdote

In early 2000s, the movie had a chance to be released in China, on condition that the sex scenes were censored. The director Imamura consulted some Chinese directors. They replied that the sex scenes were necessary contrast to the scenes of death. Imamura decided to turn down the proposal.

Home media

The Ballad of Narayama was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in May 2010. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer.