Mother (Okaasan) Directed by Mikio Naruse Written by Yôko Mizuki 1952/Japan Shintoho Film Distribution Committee
First viewing/Hulu
All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. — Abraham Lincoln
This is a moving tribute to mothers struggling to keep their families together amidst the hardships of postwar Japan.
The Fukuhara family consists of mother, father, a grown son who is confined to bed by “exhaustion”, a teenage daughter, a grade school age daughter, and the young son of the mother’s sister, a widow who is studying to be a hair dresser. The story is narrated by the teenage daughter and mother is played by Kinuyo Tanaka, looking much changed from her great performance in The Life of Oharu this same year.
Hardship is never far from this family but there are plenty of lighter moments as well. This is more or less a glimpse of daily life as the family tries to make a go of a laundry business. Mother soldiers on as she loses first her son and then her husband. Finally, after her husband’s death, she decides to allow his brother to adopt the youngest girl. Nevertheless, the love between all these people is palpable.
I really liked this movie. This is the closest I have seen Naruse get to the light touch one finds in Ozu’s films. The children are pretty great and provide much of the humor. The story is moving without ever once succumbing to melodrama. Recommended.
The Quiet Man Directed by John Ford Written by Frank S. Nugent from the story by Maurice Walsh 1952/USA Argosy Pictures
Repeat viewing/My DVD collection
No. 253 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Michaleen Flynn: [on seeing the broken bed] Impetuous! Homeric!
It gets harder with every year that passes to put the dubious sexual politics aside, but if you can this is still a very romantic and enjoyable film.
Sean Thornton (John Wayne) was born in Ireland and left as a very young child. After he retires from boxing, having killed an opponent in the ring, he returns to his ancestral village of Inisfree. He manages to buy his parents’ old cottage from the widow (Mildred Natwick) who owns it, thus beginning a war of sorts with “Red” Will Danaher (Victor McLaughlin) who has been trying to acquire it and the widow for years. Of course, immediately thereafter Sean falls in love at first sight with Danaher’s fiery sister Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara).
Danaher is naturally against any match between Sean and his sister but is tricked into relenting with a false promise that the widow will surrender as soon as he gets his sister out of his house. Sean engages pixie local character Michaleen Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald) to fill the traditional role of chaperone and matchmaker. The courtship doesn’t last long as the passion between these two won’t wait. They are married shortly thereafter.
When Danaher discovers he has been had, he retaliates by refusing to give Mary Kate the money and furniture that is her inheritance. Sean doesn’t care about the money but Mary Kate cannot rest until she has what is hers. She refuses to sleep with him until he wins it for her. The cultural gap is wide. He thinks her acquisitive and she believes he is a coward for not fighting her brother. The rest of the film is devoted to the resolution of this issue, ending with a grand donnybrook. With most of Ford’s stock company including Arthur Shields and Ward Bond as the local pastor and priest and a host of Irish supporting players.
The plot is relatively simple, allowing Ford to concentrate on presenting the most romantic possible vision of Ireland. It’s a pity that the friction between Sean and Mary Kate is solved by returning to gender role stereotypes but it is all handled in a fairly light and amusing way. Wayne and O’Hara have a powerful chemistry and she may never have been more beautiful. I’ve seen this film many times and it never grows old. I suppose that’s what makes a classic.
The Quiet Man won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography, Color. It was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Actor in a Supporting Role (McLaughlin); Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; and Best Sound, Recording.
Trailer
Irish actor Gabriel Byrne on The Quiet Man – he says this is a feminist film??!!
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
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