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The Ballad of Narayama

The Ballad of Narayama

Drama · 1983

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.

Movie details

The Ballad of Narayama

“Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…”

1983 Drama 2h 10m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Ballad of Narayama?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Shōhei Imamura

Written by

Shōhei Imamura

Ken Ogata

Ken Ogata

Tatsuhei

Sumiko Sakamoto

Sumiko Sakamoto

Orin

Tonpei Hidari

Tonpei Hidari

Risuke

Aki Takejo

Aki Takejo

Tamayan

Shoichi Ozawa

Shoichi Ozawa

Katsuzô

Fujio Tokita

Fujio Tokita

Jinsaku

Sanshō Shinsui

Sanshō Shinsui

Zeniya Tadayan

Court is in session

Put The Ballad of Narayama on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.