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Fire Festival

Released Oct 6, 1985 2h 0m Drama List
100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Beholden to long-established traditions and his own selfishness, lumberjack Tatsuo (Kin'ya Kitaôji) is well known in his small village as a volatile personality. When land developers threaten his way of life with construction plans, Tatsuo becomes increasingly unhinged -- especially as his family and siblings push him to accept the developers' offer to purchase his property. However, Tatsuo has no intention of letting anyone change the way he lives or dishonoring the traditions he holds dear.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Paul Attanasio Washington Post "Himatsuri" is a powerfully mysterious look at Japan's loss of innocence, a movie of strange beauties alive with a reverence for nature. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse The beauty of the images is inescapable and actually carry the film almost for the full of its 126 minutes, despite the rather slow pace. Jul 23, 2020 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Intensely dramatic and visually riveting, this highlight of Japanese cinema contrasts modernism and rural traditionalism through the struggle of one man who's at one with nature. Rated: A Aug 16, 2012 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 5/5 Jun 19, 2005 Full Review TV Guide Rated: 4/5 Jul 30, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (3) audience reviews
Audience Member intense, gripping and visually intoxicating. deserves to be much better known Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw this movie years ago and was very moved by it, but have been unable to find it in recent years. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Please, please try to find this movie. A deep movie that calls up all that is mysterious and unknowable about life itself. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Fire Festival

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Beholden to long-established traditions and his own selfishness, lumberjack Tatsuo (Kin'ya Kitaôji) is well known in his small village as a volatile personality. When land developers threaten his way of life with construction plans, Tatsuo becomes increasingly unhinged -- especially as his family and siblings push him to accept the developers' offer to purchase his property. However, Tatsuo has no intention of letting anyone change the way he lives or dishonoring the traditions he holds dear.
Director
Mitsuo Yanagimachi
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 6, 1985, Original
Runtime
2h 0m