Ukikusa monogatari (1934)

Director:

Yasujiro Ozu

Writers:

Tadao Ikeda (writer)
Yasujiro Ozu (story)

Release Date:

January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A kabuki actor's mistress hatches a jealous plot to bring down her lover's son. |

Plot Keywords:

Theater Troupe | Costume | Piggy Bank | Saké | Show Business

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Takeshi Sakamoto	...	Kihachi
Chôko Iida	...	Otsune, Ka-yan
Kôji Mitsui	...	Shinkichi (as Hideo Mitsui)
Rieko Yagumo	...	Otaka
Yoshiko Tsubouchi	...	Otoki
Tomio Aoki	...	Tomi-boh
Reikô Tani	...	Tomibo's father
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Seiji Nishimura	...	Kichi, an actor
Emiko Yagumo
Nagamasa Yamada	...	Maako, an actor

Also Known As:

A Story of Floating Weeds
Ukigusa monogatari (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
Histoire d'herbes flottantes (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Der Wanderschauspieler (Germany) [de]
Història d'una herba errant (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Histoire d'un acteur ambulant (France) [fr]
Storia di erbe fluttuanti (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

86 min (24 fps) | Japan:118 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Shochiku Company

Movie Connections:

Remade as Ukigusa (1959)

Near Perfect Original

I watched the DVD with the piano score, which I recommend. The film is about a traveling acting troupe who go to a village in Japan. Kihachi (a great Takeshi Sakamoto) has lover in this town, as well as a college age son, who doesn't know Kihachi is his father. Kihachi's present mistress Otaka sends younger member Otoki (the pretty Yoshiko Tsubouchi) to spend time with the boy, as an act of revenge after hearing of Kihachi's lover and son. I have seen the remake first and will again after this, but this version plays out perfectly. Its actually not much different, the main differences being the kind of locale (the remake is in a seaside village), this is silent and it is in black and white. I think you'll care about these characters. The great Ozu's approach is his patented simplicity in design and mood. The movie is mostly dramatic with the odd comic touch. Buy the double DVD and watch both versions. I think you'll find both very worthwhile.