Iwashigumo (Summer Clouds)

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william d Excellent drama dealing with family conflict, although I must admit I got a bit confused over the family relationships among the characters, Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member You really can't go wrong with Mikio Naruse, I've found. However, that said, his first attempt at color and cinemascope feels a bit sprawling with too many characters (and possibly an all star cast - you know this type of film). It is possible too that the rural setting and focus on a family farm was a bit far afield (so to speak) for Naruse, who usually steered family and romantic dramas set in urban locales. Nevertheless, the drama is still absorbing, given that you can't really anticipate where the plot might lead and what fates might befall the central characters. Chikage Awashima stands out as the strong (almost feminist) auntie who is determined to adapt to the new ways of the younger generation, even as her older brother struggles to let go. Someone once said that all of Naruse's plots involve problems with money and that is true again here but, as with many Japanese films of this period (including Ozu's, in particular), these problems are overshadowed or even brought about by changes in Japanese society itself. Naruse would move on to greater films in the coming years. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member An excellent film about farming, and an interesting family drama. Not Naruse's best, but still informative and sometimes great fun. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Naruse's first film in colour. Though not as subtle as some of his other works it has a tremendous cast of characters which he controls with the deft touch of a Russian novelist. The setting is the working class farming community and the theme, like so many of Ozu's films, is the erosion of tradition, changing values and children rebelling against their parents. Unlike Ozu, Naruse takes the side of the young characters searching for freedom, whilst maintaining sympathy for the older generation being left behind. A fascinating portrait of a period of monumental social change. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Iwashigumo (Summer Clouds)

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