NARAYAMA BUSHI KO

A joruri narrator clad in raven black introduces us to Narayama Bushiko as heavy curtains reveal the backdrop of a tribal village. In the kabuki tradition, the samisen ballad speaks of a kind elderly woman, Orin, who is contemplating her ascent to Mount Narayama. This most stylized work by Kinoshita is also his most dramatically theatrical, replete with meticulously designed soundstages and dramatic lighting. A haunting allegory that shows the conflict between filial duty, tradition and social pressure, the same story was remade by Imamura Shohei decades later, but the original remains a startling, culturally resonant magnum opus.