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Scattered Clouds

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Scattered Clouds
Japanese name
Kanji乱れ雲
Directed byMikio Naruse
Written byNobuo Yamada
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYuzuru Aizawa
Edited byEiji Ooi
Music byTōru Takemitsu
Production
company
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • 18 November 1967 (1967-11-18) (Japan)[1]
Running time
108 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Scattered Clouds aka Two in the Shadow (乱れ雲, Midaregumo) is a 1967 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse starring Yōko Tsukasa and Yūzō Kayama.[1] It was Naruse's final film after a long lasting career which started in 1930.[2][3]

Plot

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Shortly before Yumiko's and her husband Hiroshi's (an employee of the Ministry of Economy) departure for the United States, he is killed in a car accident. The car's driver, Shiro, although acquitted in the following hearing, feels guilty and offers Yumiko to pay a monthly instalment. Yumiko first rejects, but when her husband's family disowns her, leaving her without an inheritance, she finally accepts the money. Due to her precarious financial situation, she decides to return to her hometown and work in the inn run by her sister near Lake Towada. By coincidence, Shiro is reassigned by his employers to the same area. Although Yumiko and Shiro slowly develop a mutual affection, finally leading to a love affair, Yumiko can't leave her past behind, which returns with all its power when she witnesses an accident that reminds her of Hiroshi's death. In the end, Shiro is transferred again, to a far away office in Lahore, Pakistan.

Cast

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Legacy

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Scattered Clouds was presented at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in 1981[4] and at the Museum of Modern Art in 1985[5] and 1987,[6] the second time with an introduction by historian Donald Richie. In 2015, it was shown at the 39th Hong Kong International Film Festival as part of a retrospective on the director.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Scattered Clouds at the Japanese Movie Database" (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  2. ^ Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Lanham, Toronto, Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
  3. ^ Russell, Catherine (2011). Classical Japanese Cinema Revisited. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
  4. ^ "Scattered Clouds (Two in the Shadows) (Midaregumo)". BAMPFA. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Mikio Naruse: A Master of the Japanese Cinema Opens at MoMA September 23" (PDF). Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  6. ^ "New York Magazine Movies Theater Guide". New York Magazine. 13 April 1987. p. 110. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. ^ Marsh, James (11 February 2015). "Hong Kong International Film Festival To Honour Naruse Mikio On 60th Anniversary Of FLOATING CLOUDS". screenanarchy.com. Retrieved 23 January 2021.

Bibliography

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