Sudden Rain

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Robin C “Sudden Rain” Fumiko (Setsuko Hara) and Ryotaro (Shuji Sano) have been married for years and their life is in a rut. He likes movies, she does not. She likes to stay at home, he does not. When a pretty young neighbor and her new husband move in next door, Ryotaro makes it obvious he is attracted to her in “Sudden Rain.” This 1956 film by Mikio Naruse is an almost humorous look at a 1950s marriage in contemporary (at the time) Japan. The couple has been “married a long time” according to him – it has been four years. They have become set in their ways with him burying his face in the newspaper and she pays attention only to her knitting. One day, Fumiko’s newly-married niece, Ayako (Kyoko Kagawa), drops buy to tell her auntie that she is getting a divorce. She says that her husband is an ill-mannered lout who just wants to sleep or stay out with friends until dawn. Auntie consoles the young woman. Then, Ryotaro comes home from work and, of course, mansplains to the young woman how her husband’s behavior is easily explained and is harmless. This sets the stage showing the conflict in the older couple’s marriage as they go their separate ways in their day to day life. He, a salesman, is facing a company merger and the threat of layoffs. She sort of adopts a stray dog who roams freely and causes trouble – which she is blamed for. Then, there are the new neighbors. Ryotaro loves going to the movies and their very pretty young neighbor, Hinako (Akemi Negishi), does too. They make a date and we come to find out that he has a wandering eye and his wife knows it. But, the merger looms large and he is told to take a severance deal or it is just bye-bye from his employer. This leads to an interlude where his friends and colleagues propose opening a classy restaurant. Ryotaro just needs to invest in the venture. Then, one of the men suggests that Fumiko would be perfect to become the front of house hostess. He reacts as if he was slapped in the face and is adamantly against the idea. She, though, is flattered. Naruse gives us a unique look at married life in post-war Japan that is serous and, at times, whimsical with subtle humor. I particularly like the character arc Setsuko Hara gives Fumiko. In a society that was highly patriarchal – in other words, it is a man’s world – she proves to be his equal, standing up for herself and her feelings. He, on the other hand, is a misogynist (as the culture dictated at the time) and pretty much stays the same – until the mirthful ending. It is nice to go back in film history and culture and get a view into another world very different from our own. I think that is one reason, in many, why I love movies. “Sudden Rain” is a good example of that view. B+ Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/03/25 Full Review william d Unfortunately, the print I saw had subpar English subtitles, so I'm sure I missed a lot of the dialogue's nuance. Still, I enjoyed the film. While not laugh-out-loud funny there were many scenes that put a smile on my face. And the dramatic parts will ring true for anyone who has been married for any length of time. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I'm a sucker for these Mikio Naruse dramas (or sometimes melodramas) where Japanese people talk incessantly and relationships are carefully observed. I find them somehow relaxing. Often Naruse focuses on women and their attitudes toward each other (or toward the men in their lives); in that regard, he aims for us to identify with the great Setsuko Hara (who died last year at 95) here. She is a patient housewife, managing things for herself and her husband (married four years), but denying her own needs and interests (in true Japanese female fashion). I read somewhere too that Naruse films tend to fixate on money problems and Sudden Rain is no exception. The pivotal event that tips the couple from "kentaiki" (relationship fatigue) into distress is the threat of lay-off for the husband from the cosmetics company where he is a salesman. Actually, he has to choose between resigning with a 100,000 yen bonus (a vast sum in 1950s Japan) or staying on with the risk of getting laid off with no bonus. He contemplates moving back to the small village where he grew up, something which he knows his wife would not want to do. As is typical for Naruse, there is no clear resolution of the issues but, at the film's end, the couple seems resigned to continuing as they are. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Sudden Rain

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