Mr. Thank You
Mr. Thank You (有りがたうさん, Arigatō-san) is a 1936 Japanese comedy-drama film written and directed by Hiroshi Shimizu.[3][4] It is based on a short story by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Yasunari Kawabata,[5] and noted for its portrayal of depression-era Japan and its location shooting.[6][7]
Mr. Thank You | |
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Ken Uehara and Michiko Kuwano in Mr. Thank You | |
Directed by | Hiroshi Shimizu |
Screenplay by | Hiroshi Shimizu |
Based on | "Arigato" by Yasunari Kawabata |
Starring | Ken Uehara Michiko Kuwano |
Music by | Keizô Horiuchi |
Cinematography | Isamu Aoki |
Release date |
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Running time | 76 minutes[1][2] |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Plot
A bus driver, nicknamed Mr. Thank You due to his expressions of gratitude to other road users who give way on the narrow mountain roads, drives from rural Izu to faraway Tokyo. The film portrays the passengers and their diverse reasons for travel, and the people they meet on the way, including a group of migrant workers. In the end, Mr. Thank You marries one of the passengers, a young woman destined to be sold to a brothel in Tokyo, to save her from prostitution.
Cast
- Ken Uehara as Mr. Thank You
- Michiko Kuwano as Woman in black collar
- Mayumi Tsukiji as Girl being sold
- Kaoru Futaba as Girl's mother
- Setsuko Shinobu as Daughter of man who returned from Tokyo
- Ryuji Ishiyama as Gentleman with beard
References
- "Entry for Mr. Thank You at IMDb". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- "Entry for Mr. Thank You at worldcat.org". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- "Arigato-san". BFI.
- "Mr. Thank You (1936) - The Criterion Collection". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- Koresky, Michael. "Eclipse Series 15: Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
- Richie, Donald (2005). A Hundred Years of Japanese Film (Revised edition). Tokyo, New York, London: Kodansha International. ISBN 978-4-7700-2995-9.