Uncharacteristic in Naruse’s oeuvre for its focus on a sympathetic aging patriarch, Sound of the Mountain nonetheless reveals itself gradually as a film about the women in his orbit. Shingo (Yamamura So) is a businessman who lives under one roof with his incorrigible son Shuichi (Uehara Ken), his estranged daughter Fusako (Nakakita Chieko), his loveless companion Yasuko (Nagaoka Teruko), and the only person in the bunch with whom he shares any connection: Shuichi’s neglected wife, Kikuko (Hara Setsuko). A consummate observer of human behavior, Shingo catches on to the unspoken toll of his son’s harsh and neglectful treatment of Kikuko, and responds accordingly with kindness, attention and eventually his own detective work. The dramatic machinations of the film stay largely within the confines of the family home and Shingo’s office, where he gently pries for intel from his younger employees, but Shingo’s search crescendos with a pilgrimage to Shuichi’s mistress’ home, at which point the latent tensions of the narrative click into place. The coda, staged in an expansive public park that ironically contrasts Shingo and Kikuko’s shrinking horizons, is one of Naruse’s great finales. – Carson Lund

ORDER TICKETS - JULY 7 

ORDER TICKETS - JULY 18