Scattered Clouds
Scattered Clouds aka Two in the Shadow (乱れ雲, Midaregumo) is a 1967 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse starring Yōko Tsukasa and Yūzō Kayama. It was Naruse's final film after a long lasting career which started in 1930.[2][3]
Scattered Clouds | |
---|---|
Japanese | 乱れ雲 |
Directed by | Mikio Naruse |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Nobuo Yamada |
Starring | |
Music by | Tōru Takemitsu |
Cinematography | Yuzuru Aizawa |
Edited by | Eiji Ooi |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes[1] |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Plot
Shortly before Yumiko's and her husband Hiroshi's (an employee of the Ministry of Economy) departure for the United States, he is killed in a car accident. Though acquitted in the following hearing, the car's driver Shiro feels guilty and offers Yumiko to pay a monthly instalment. Yumiko first rejects, but when her husband's family disowns her, leaving her without an inheritance, she finally accepts the money. Due to her precarious financial situation, she decides to return to her hometown and work in the inn run by her sister near Lake Towada. By coincidence, Shiro is reassigned by his employers to the same area. Although Yumiko and Shiro slowly develop a mutual affection, finally leading to a love affair, Yumiko can't leave her past behind, which returns with all its power when she witnesses an accident that reminds her of Hiroshi's death. In the end, Shiro is transferred again, to a far away office in Lahore, Pakistan.
Cast
- Yōko Tsukasa as Yumiko
- Yūzō Kayama as Mishima Shiro
- Mitsuko Kusabue as Ayako, Yumiko's sister
- Mitsuko Mori as Katsuko, Yumiko's sister-in-law
- Mie Hama as Teruko
- Daisuke Katō as Hayashida
- Yoshio Tsuchiya as Hiroshi, Yumiko's husband
- Yū Fujiki as Ishikawa, Ayako's husband
- Tadao Nakamaru as Fujiwara
- Kumeko Urabe as Nui, Shiro's mother
Legacy
Scattered Clouds was presented in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1987, with an introduction by noted film historian Donald Richie.[4] In 2015, it was presented at the 39th Hong Kong International Film Festival as part of a retrospective on the director.[5]
References
- "Scattered Clouds at the Japanese Movie Database" (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Lanham, Toronto, Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
- Russell, Catherine (2011). Classical Japanese Cinema Revisited. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
- "New York Magazine Movies Theater Guide". New York Magazine. 13 April 1987. p. 110. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- Marsh, James (11 February 2015). "Hong Kong International Film Festival To Honour Naruse Mikio On 60th Anniversary Of FLOATING CLOUDS". screenanarchy.com. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
Bibliography
- Russell, Catherine (2008). The Cinema of Naruse Mikio: Women and Japanese Modernity. Durham and London: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-4290-8.
External links
- Scattered Clouds at IMDb
- Scattered Clouds at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
- Uhlich, Keith. "Scattered Clouds review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 23 January 2021.