The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine (Madamu to nyobo)
Directed by Heinosuke Gosho
Written by Akira Fushimi and Komatsu Kitamura
1931/Japan
Shochiku
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
“A hammer made of deadlines is the surest tool for crushing writer’s block.” ― Ryan Lilly
This broad comedy turned out to be charming and a lot of fun.
A playwright rents a house in the country where he will live with his wife (the fantastic Kinuyo Tanaka) and two young children. They are a “traditional” Japanese family. The wife is constantly nagging him to get to work on his play which has a rapidly impending deadline. They really need the money.
Instead he plays mahjong with his buddies and complains about noise distractions. As time grows short he has a new sort of irritation. The next door neighbors have a jazz band in rehearsal non-stop. When he goes to complain, he becomes reacquainted with the very modern attractive singer and joins in the fun. One of the songs recommends “speed” and he finally gets to work.
This was the first all-sound Japanese film. I thought it was interesting how much American influence there was. You see this in Ozu films of the same period as well. In this one, the protagonist sings “Lullaby of Broadway” and “My Blue Heaven”! And to think so soon we would be at war. It’s less than an hour long. I thought it was heading in the wrong direction comic fight between the playwright and a painter that lasted way too long but once the story proper started I was enchanted. Recommended.
