Husband and Wife (1953 film)
Husband and Wife | |
---|---|
Japanese | 夫婦 |
Directed by | Mikio Naruse |
Written by | |
Produced by | Sanezumi Fujimoto |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Asakazu Nakai |
Edited by | Hidetoshi Kasama |
Music by | Ichirō Saitō |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Husband and Wife (夫婦, Fūfu) is a 1953 Japanese comedy drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.[1][2]
Plot[]
Because her brother's future wife will soon move into the family's house, Kikuko and her husband Isaku are forced to look for a new room. They move into the house of Isaku's colleague Ryota, who has just lost his wife. Kikuko and the spontaneous, emotional Ryota develop an affection for each other, much to the concern of the rather detached, distanced Isaku. Kikuko and Isaku finally move into a new room whose landlady only accepts tenants without children. When Kikuko admits to her husband hat she is pregnant, he tries to talk her into having an abortion. Kikuko first gives in, but eventually refuses, and Isaku agrees to have the child, even if their decision will make things difficult for them.
Cast[]
Actor | Role |
---|---|
Yōko Sugi | Kikuko |
Ken Uehara | Isaku |
Rentarō Mikuni | Ryota |
Keiju Kobayashi | Shigekichi, Kikuko's brother |
Mariko Okada | Kumiko, Kikuko's sister |
Kamatari Fujiwara | Kikuko's father |
Hisako Takihana | Kikuko's mother |
Chieko Nakakita | Mrs. Akamatsu |
Eiko Miyoshi | landlady |
Reception[]
Like other Naruse films from this period, such as Repast and Wife, the theme of Husband and Wife involves a couple trapped with each other,[3] and, as so often in the director's films, a character is forced to "redefine themselves and test their strength."[4]
Slant Magazine critic Keith Uhlich awarded Husband and Wife 3.5/4 stars, describing it as a "what if" scenario, specifically, "what if Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were locked together in a room and forced to fight over Mary Pickford?", a parallel which becomes explicit in a scene where the protagonists visit a stage show reenactment of a Chaplin routine. According to Uhlich, the film's theme is the journey towards "reconciliation of those contradictions inherent to being human."[5]
Husband and Wife was Yōko Sugi's only starring role in a Naruse film, playing a part that had originally been intended for Setsuko Hara.[6]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "夫婦 (Husband and Wife)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "夫婦 (Husband and Wife)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ Richie, Donald (2012). A Hundred Years of Japanese Film. Kodansha. p. 126. ISBN 9781568364391.
- ^ Fujiwara, Chris (2005). "Mikio Naruse: The Other Women and The View from the Outside". Film Comment. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ Uhlich, Keith (November 6, 2005). "Husband and Wife". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ Russell, Catherine (2008). The Cinema of Naruse Mikio: Women and Japanese Modernity. Durham and London: Duke University Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8223-4290-8.
External links[]
- 1953 films
- Japanese-language films
- 1953 comedy-drama films
- Japanese films
- Japanese comedy-drama films
- Films directed by Mikio Naruse
- Films produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto
- Toho films
- Films scored by Ichirō Saitō
- Japanese black-and-white films