Yearning (1964)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Reiko Morita (Hideko Takamine) is a widow who loses her husband in war. Bombing destroys his family's shop and the widow stays to rebuild it as the rest of the family flee and runs it for 18 years out of love for her dead husband and his mother. The film starts after 18 years when a new supermarket threatens to put them out of business. The sisters conspire to turn the shop into a supermarket and get rid of their brother's widow. Meanwhile, the surviving younger brother 25-year-old Koji Morita (Yuzo Kayama) loafs around, losing jobs, getting drunk, laid and gambling. In the crisis, he confesses to his shocked sister-in-law, 12 years older, that he has always loved her and can't deal with it. She cares for him, but in the motherly, elder sister way. She rejects him and decides to return home to her family, threatening suicide if he stops her. This suits the sisters, but he follows her onto the long train ride. On the way, she softens and they disembark for a country inn, where they can talk. He resumes his approaches, but at the last minute, she can't face intimacy. He storms out and gets drunk. He calls Reiko up and says he is going back home. In the morning, Reiko looks out the window and sees him being carried into the village on a stretcher, his face covered. Someone says he fell from a cliff. Reiko runs after him but falters. The last shot is of her face, blank, as she realizes what happened. - Actors:
- Hideko Takamine, Yûzô Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Yumi Shirakawa, Mie Hama, Aiko Mimasu, Yû Fujiki, Kazuo Kitamura, Hisao Toake, Kumeko Urabe, Kan Yanagiya, Yutaka Sada, Yutaka Nakayama, Toshiko Yabuki, Chieko Nakakita, Gen Shimizu, Yasuhiko Saijô, Yasuzô Ogawa, Toyoko Uryû, Tamami Urayama
- Directors:
- Mikio Naruse
- Producers:
- Sanezumi Fujimoto, Mikio Naruse
- Writers:
- Zenzô Matsuyama, Mikio Naruse
- Aka:
- Midareru
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
- Countries:
- Japan
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Reviews (1) of Yearning
Not Ozu - but a nod to Ozu - Yearning review by griggs
Mikio Naruse’s Yearning is my first encounter with his work, which was thoroughly enjoyable. The film feels like a warm nod to Ozu, capturing the rhythms of everyday life and the weight of emotional struggles. It shares that quiet, kitchen-sink drama sensibility (if you ignore the Western influenced use of a musical soundtrack). However, compared to Ozu it carries a bit more energy with Naruse’s use of multiple cameras, fluid actor movement, shorter scenes, and varied locations. The story of love, loss, and duty is simple yet moving, anchored by Hideko Takamine’s outstanding performance, full of warmth and depth. While it may not have the polish or profundity of Ozu’s masterpieces, its straightforward approach has a comforting charm. It’s Ozu-lite: not too heavy, not too fluffy, and more than compelling enough to hold your attention.