A Wife’s Heart
(Tsuma no kokoro)
With Takamine Hideko, Mifune Toshiro, Kobayashi Keiju.
Japan, 1956, 35mm, black & white, 101 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: The Japan Foundation
Naruse’s melodrama combines all of the tantalizing ingredients and timing to potentially boil over, yet he skillfully conserves the heat, revealing more complexity and depth in the long simmer. Husband and wife Shinji and Kiyoko—played by infallible regulars Kobayashi Keiju and Takamine Hideko—want to open a small café with all the money they have when Shinji’s overbearing mother pressures them to help out the favored, once-successful brother, now down on his luck. Meanwhile, Kiyoko’s business ambitions are encouraged by a handsome bank clerk—in the form of Mifune Toshiro, no less—whose charm and support serve as a salve to her increasingly stressful homelife. Another Naruse woman who entered into marriage either rashly or pragmatically, Kiyoko reveals her heart’s wishes through fleeting expressions or awkward silences. In fact, most of the communication in the film is unstated, indirect or misunderstood. With his hand cautiously on the lid, Naruse conducts a delicate symphony of restraint, acquiescence and perhaps even quiet transformation. – Brittany Gravely
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Sound of the Mountain
Anzukko
Mother
Sincerity
Summer Clouds
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Summer Clouds
The Stranger within a Woman
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Traveling Actors
Scattered Clouds
Scattered Clouds
Flowing
A Wanderer’s Notebook
Repast
Every-Night Dreams
Apart From You
No Blood Relation
Street Without End
The Road I Travel with You / Avalanche
Every-Night Dreams
