is a 1953 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Kaneto Shindō. It is based on

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

's 1883 novel '' Une vie''.

Plot

Shortly after graduating from high school, Fujiko Shirakawa is married to Shintarō Yamazaki, whose parents run a lucrative restaurant. Fujiko soon finds out that not only her father-in-law has two mistresses, but that Shintarō has an affair with maid Yuki. Pregnant with Shintarō's child, Fujiko gives in to her parents' and parents-in-law's appeal to stay with her husband. When Yuki also turns out to be pregnant and is sent back to her parents, Fujiko manages to talk her parents-in-law into raising Yuki's son Jirō together with her own son Tarō in the Yamazaki household. Some time later, Shintarō dies, and with the outbreak of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, Tarō and Jirō are mobilised. After the end of the war, Fujiko manages the still flourishing restaurant of the Yamazaki family. Her son Tarō, who has returned from the war while Jirō has gone missing, rapes one of the maids and disappears. Fujiko takes in the maid's child to raise it in her household.

Cast

* Nobuko Otowa as Fujiko Shirakawa * Koreya Senda as Fujiko's father * Jūkichi Uno as Masao, Fujiko's brother * Akira Yamauchi as Shintarō Yamazaki * Eitarō Shindō as Tokubei, Shintarō's father * Haruko Sugimura as Tamae, Shintarō's mother *

Haruo Tanaka was a Japanese film actor noted for his supporting roles in a career that spanned seven decades. Career Tanaka was born in Kyoto and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to se ...

as Yoshihito Mizoguchi *

Tanie Kitabayashi was a Japanese actress and voice actress. Born Reiko Ando in Tokyo, she began as a stage actress. Kitabayashi was a founding member of the famed Mingei Theatre Company, founded in 1950. Early in her career, she became well known for portrayin ...

as Tora, Yuki's mother * Yuriko Hanabusa as Mitsue, Fujiko's mother * Sumiko Hidaka as Yuki Kawakami *

Ranko Hanai was a Japanese actress who appeared in about 200 films between 1929 and 1961. Biography Hanai was born Yoshiko Shimizu in Osaka, Japan. As a child, she acted with the theatre troupes of Takeo Kawai and Rokurō Kitamura, and gave her screen debu ...

as Harue *

Yukiko Todoroki Yukiko Todoroki ( ''Todoroki Yukiko''; September 11, 1917 – May 11, 1967) was a Japanese people, Japanese actress. Her real name was Tsuruko Nishiyama. She participated in the Takarazuka Revue. At Takarazuka, she was known not by her real name ...

as Hanayu *

Ichirō Sugai was a Japanese actor and film director who appeared in more than 300 films in his 45 years spanning career, working with directors such as Kaneto Shindō, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kōzaburō Yoshimura. Biography Sugai was born in Rukahara (now Hig ...

as Kichimatsu, Yuki's father * Eijirō Tōno as Kyūzaemon * Eijirō Yanagi as Hamamura *

Taiji Tonoyama was a Japanese character actor who made many appearances in films and on television from 1939 to 1989. He was a close friend of Kaneto Shindo and one of his regular cast members. He was also an essayist. In 1950 he helped form the film company ...

as Tomekichi

Reception

Reviewing the film in their 1959 book ''The Japanese Film – Art & Industry'',

Donald Richie Donald Richie (April 17, 1924 – February 19, 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also ...

and Joseph L. Anderson saw a "strong evocation of the past", but faulted Shindō for going too far in the depiction of the story's "unpleasant aspects".

References

External links

* 1953 films Japanese drama films 1950s Japanese-language films 1953 drama films Films directed by Kaneto Shindo Films with screenplays by Kaneto Shindo Films based on French novels Films based on works by Guy de Maupassant Japanese black-and-white films 1950s Japanese films Films scored by Akira Ifukube {{1950s-Japan-film-stub