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Repast

Play trailer Repast Released Sep 21, 1984 1h 37m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Michiyo is unhappy living in a small home in Osaka cooking and cleaning for her husband.

Critics Reviews

View All (2) Critics Reviews
Keith Uhlich Slant Magazine Repast feels like something of a warm-up to Naruse's subsequent Sound of the Mountain. Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 27, 2006 Full Review Nathanael Hood Unseen Films Even so, Naruse was never Ozu's stylistic equal, and without his contemporary's hermetic environments much of the film's drama feels flat. Rated: 6/10 Apr 15, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (13) audience reviews
william d I enjoyed this movie until the end. Like the main character I also experience disappointment with the drudgery of everyday life. However, the ending was just too pat. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Sensitively observed post-war Japanese drama about a young wife (Setsuko Hara) who yearns to return to the freedom of her single life and to escape the drudgery of cooking and cleaning and a husband who seems to take her for granted. As so often in Naruse's films, we see characters (primarily women) who must resign themselves to the bitter pill that life makes them swallow. Here, the "happy ending" that brings the couple back together is really just another acknowledgment that life is about compromise and disappointment (but this may in fact be a realistic view). Not my favorite Naruse -- the later ones with Hideko Takamine are even more wickedly depressing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Naruse's realistic portrait of a housewife on the verge of maybe thinking about leaving her inattentive workingman husband, with the lovely Setsuko Hara dressing down for the role. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member This one was read by me in two ways- both disregarding the ending where she sucumbs to the role of a housewife as that is the life of a woman! First, is relatable. She clearly was un-appreciated and needed that break. It was a relatable feeling. This was the reading at the time. The second was later where I simply stated that it was a good movie. It just is. The friends were funny and the one with glasses looks funny! The cat is cute. And anyone think something is up with the niece? And yet again, Naruse has a bus tour guide with a great voice! And the impression is great too! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member My first Naruse, and though I couldn’t say with any honesty that this film is one of my favourites, it has piqued my interest in the rest of his work. And among the Japanese filmmakers I’ve seen so far, I have a feeling I will be most drawn into his work. Repast is about the compulsively unhappy Michiyo, who feels stuck in a marriage where she is little more than a slave to her husband and domestic life. There is a constant repetition of actions, scenes and scenarios. There is an endless monotony that she feels trapped by. As the film progresses, she branches out beyond the home, though is still constantly pulled and reminded of that life. She goes out with friends, they tell her how beautiful and happy she looks, to which she responds puzzled. She is very unhappy, but realises that the world around her cannot, or perhaps will not understand how and why, as she is fulfilling her duties as a wife. It’s not even that there is no sympathy for her plight, but there is no precedent that she should or would be in this situation. It’s accepted that she is happy because she has achieved what has been set before her, but it’s wholly unsatisfying for her. The film also hints at the difficulties that tough economic times have on relationships. The strain that divides couples, unable to have time together, because they are constantly working and managing. She realises she’s nagging, but there is little choice, there isn’t enough money, there isn’t enough food, therefore there isn’t enough freedom. Her husband, though fairly oblivious and selfish, isn’t exactly cruel or mean, just as unsympathetic as everyone else in her life. The introduction of the niece reveals an interesting perspective on the story. Someone unaffected by the world, who the idea of working and suffering seems completely lost on. She sees herself as the center of the world and though that may divide her with most people, it serves her well. Her happiness above all others has brought her more peace of mind that anyone else, but it’s a life that Michiyo cannot, and does not want to live. She only becomes a burden. Later, when Michiyo goes home to “think things over”, all she does is sleep. She’ called lazy, or her exhaustion is explained by her over working. No doubt, the latter is part of the problem, but in retrospect, depression or some other similar psychological disorder is just as likely the cause. It’s beyond just simple unhappiness, and it’s certainly not selfishness. The film ends on a bittersweet note, as Michiyo seems to find comfort in returning to the life she left behind with a new understanding of her work. Is it a hopeful lie on her part? Or does she really believe in that change? It’s difficult to say. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A quiet yet absorbing movie which explores the dynamics of a husband and wife living in post-war Osaka. The wife, a Tokyo native following her husband finds herself at crisis point trying to cope with displacement, domestic drudgery, bleak future horizons and little money. The arrival of her husband's attractive niece strains everybody, and the wife takes off to Tokyo to find herself. Surprisingly modern in certain aspects, this movie is also a fascinating historical document of a Japan long since vanished. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Repast

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Michiyo is unhappy living in a small home in Osaka cooking and cleaning for her husband.
Director
Mikio Naruse
Producer
Sanezumi Fujimoto
Screenwriter
Toshirô Ide, Sumie Tanaka
Production Co
Toho Company Ltd.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 21, 1984, Original
Runtime
1h 37m