The Cinematheque

“One of the great ​‘women’s pictures’ … As with many of his films, a surface stillness masks what Kurosawa described as a ​‘raging undercurrent’ of repression, remonstration, and, finally, resignation at the limits of happiness afforded a housewife in postwar Japanese society.”

Matthew Thrift, BFI

The first of Naruse’s films to be based on the works of Hayashi Fumiko is adapted from the popular author’s last, unfinished novel; Naruse would make five more films based on her writings in the coming years (each of which is included in this retrospective). A poignant marital drama, Repast casts Ozu regular Hara Setsuko (who also appears in Naruse’s Sound of the Mountain) as Osaka housewife Michiyo. Increasingly dissatisfied with her childless marriage to poorly paid salaryman Hatsunosuke (Uehara Ken), she dreams of returning to her family, and maybe finding a job, in Tokyo. When her husband’s niece Satoko lands on their doorstep, and Hatsunosuke begins showing the beautiful young woman around town, it brings the crisis in Michiyo’s marriage to a head. The critical success of the film marked a turning point for Naruse, whose output the previous decade had largely been discounted. The director’s landmark run of 1950s masterworks starts here.

In Japanese with English subtitles

“Naruse and Hayashi’s collaborations were not merely about the individual suffering of heartbroken women, but rather the collective burden that is forced upon them by traditional patriarchal values and an emergent consumerist culture. These ideas are expertly distilled into Naruse’s first adaptation of a Hayashi novel.”

Mick Gaw, Screen Slate