Floating Clouds 1955
Voted Best Film by Japanese film critics of 1955
Naruse’s most popular film with Japanese audiences.
Based on best-selling novel by Fumiko Hayashi, a popular woman writer who died in 1951. Stars Hideko Takamine - who worked frequently with Naruse and Kinoshita – and Masayuki Mori (who is also teamed with her in When a Woman Ascends the Stairs).
Yukiko and Tomioka meet in Indochina during the war. They are both assigned by the forestry dept of the govt to work in Dalat; he as a bureaucrat with expertise in forestry and she is a typist. The only Japanese woman in the office, she is desired by one of the officers named Kano but she spurns him, fixing her attentions on Tomioka, a married man, who is the object of her desire. Tomioka is initially rude to her but soon succumbs to her – she is sexually available and reminds him of his wife, whom he misses. When they are repatriated to Japan after the war, he tries to break off their relationship but intermittently and ungraciously succumbs to her pleas to maintain the connection. They are both in severe straits, battling to make a living in the bombed out city of Tokyo. He feels guilty betraying his wife and no longer finds her very attractive. He is a womanizer: he has an affair with the Annamese maid in the Dalat office; starts a new love affair with a young married woman in the hot springs resort where he intended to carry out a double suicide with Yukiko, and seeks consolation with a bar hostess after Yukiko dies. He is weak and irresponsible with women but in the end he is the only survivor – albeit a floating cloud. All his lovers disappear or die – he pays off Niu, the Annamese woman when she gets pregnant and sends her away; his wife dies of TB; Seiko (Osei) is murdered by her jealous husband after she deserts him and goes to live with Tomioka; Yukiko is weakened by her abortion and the damp climate of Yakushima, and finally dies. He has generated all this feminine suffering and death.
But the book and the film reflect the dismal state of Japan and the Japanese in the early years of the Occupation following the defeat. The poor housing available in the bombed ruins of the cities; the black market in foodstuffs and clothing and building materials; the prostitution of Japanese women servicing American troops of the occupation forces; the gloom generated by the loss of national prestige and power. Those Japanese that had served the Japanese empire abroad had especially enjoyed prestige and privilege – comfortable living quarters, servants, gourmet food, a sense of superiority over defeated and subject nations, the reins of power in their hands. Returning to Japan, they faced a bitter disillusionment and demoralization; and understandably indulged in nostalgia for the past. One can see why Japanese readers and audiences identified with Yukiko’s nostalgia for Dalat - the good old days that were gone…
In this short extract from Naruse’s 1955 hit movie, Floating Clouds, we see Yukiko (played by Hideko Takamine), in dismal mood, alone in dark squalid conditions, [deserted by her lover, not wanting to be dependent on her brother-in-law (who had sexually abused her in her younger days), jobless, back in the ruins of Tokyo after returning from sunny Indo-China soon after the Japanese defeat.] The rain leaks into the room. Rain is a recurring symbol of misery and bad luck in the writings of Fumiko Hayashi and the films adapted from her works by Naruse. It will feature prominently in the scenes at the end of the film, when Yukiko finally appears to have achieved her heart’s desire, union with her lover on a remote island off the coast of Japan, only to fall fatally ill and die.
The straight cuts and ellipses employed in this scene demonstrate Naruse’s command of an economical method of narration – and discretion. In the entertainment district at night, she is shown looking for work and approached by a kindly American occupation soldier. We only learn that she becomes his mistress retrospectively in the next scene, when Tomioka, her old lover from Indochina days (played by Masayuki Mori, who also is paired with her in When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) returns to Tokyo and seeks her out, finding her gaudily dressed, like a prostitute or a kept woman, with a supply of American cigarettes and plenty of food. She gives him a cigarette and later buys him sake. Tomioka (Masayuki Mori) comments on her seeming prosperity but she is morose and bitter. He has finally brought her some money but too late. She reproaches him.for his selfishness. On the soundtrack throughout the scene we hear the Dalat musical theme, the romantic/mournful/exotic musical theme which returns to the sound track throughout the film whenever the central couple resume their constantly interrupted and tortured relationship. This meeting is interrupted by the arrival of the American, Joe. She quickly and efficiently steers him out into the street and walks him down it, arms affectionately embracing him, the action shot from behind, but soon returns to Tomioka. She lights candles (which could be seen as a romantic touch but more specifically references the lack of electricity). He makes snide remarks about her current prostitution; she retaliates with reference to his own past sexual indiscretions and infidelity to his wife. She pointedly quotes a poem Joe taught her about longing for a lost love – clearly referring to their romance in Indochina. He expresses grudging admiration for her – as a strong independent woman. When she rebuffs his overtures, he insults her by drawing explicit attention to her prostitution. .
Characteristically for Naruse, we have basically two sets: an outdoor street set and an indoor room set. Repeatedly throughout the film we see the couple singly or together walking along a street, often shot from behind; and drinking sake and smoking cigarettes around a table (at home, in a bar or hotel) while they torture each other with recriminations.
The lighting is also used very effectively. The depressed conditions in early postwar Tokyo are underlined by the dark lighting and dark wintry dress, which contrast with the bright sunlight and light tropical dress used in the flashback scenes set in Indochina.
When he leaves at the end of this unhappy scene, he is shot from behind walking away down the alley. Her emotional turmoil, her remorse for driving him away, her continuing desire for him, her disappointment at being too late, are powerfully evoked by a sharp reversal of camera angle in the street scene, as she runs towards the camera in a futile effort to reach him; her desolation at her failure underlined by a howling wind on the soundtrack.
Naruse’s most popular film with Japanese audiences.
Based on best-selling novel by Fumiko Hayashi, a popular woman writer who died in 1951. Stars Hideko Takamine - who worked frequently with Naruse and Kinoshita – and Masayuki Mori (who is also teamed with her in When a Woman Ascends the Stairs).
Yukiko and Tomioka meet in Indochina during the war. They are both assigned by the forestry dept of the govt to work in Dalat; he as a bureaucrat with expertise in forestry and she is a typist. The only Japanese woman in the office, she is desired by one of the officers named Kano but she spurns him, fixing her attentions on Tomioka, a married man, who is the object of her desire. Tomioka is initially rude to her but soon succumbs to her – she is sexually available and reminds him of his wife, whom he misses. When they are repatriated to Japan after the war, he tries to break off their relationship but intermittently and ungraciously succumbs to her pleas to maintain the connection. They are both in severe straits, battling to make a living in the bombed out city of Tokyo. He feels guilty betraying his wife and no longer finds her very attractive. He is a womanizer: he has an affair with the Annamese maid in the Dalat office; starts a new love affair with a young married woman in the hot springs resort where he intended to carry out a double suicide with Yukiko, and seeks consolation with a bar hostess after Yukiko dies. He is weak and irresponsible with women but in the end he is the only survivor – albeit a floating cloud. All his lovers disappear or die – he pays off Niu, the Annamese woman when she gets pregnant and sends her away; his wife dies of TB; Seiko (Osei) is murdered by her jealous husband after she deserts him and goes to live with Tomioka; Yukiko is weakened by her abortion and the damp climate of Yakushima, and finally dies. He has generated all this feminine suffering and death.
But the book and the film reflect the dismal state of Japan and the Japanese in the early years of the Occupation following the defeat. The poor housing available in the bombed ruins of the cities; the black market in foodstuffs and clothing and building materials; the prostitution of Japanese women servicing American troops of the occupation forces; the gloom generated by the loss of national prestige and power. Those Japanese that had served the Japanese empire abroad had especially enjoyed prestige and privilege – comfortable living quarters, servants, gourmet food, a sense of superiority over defeated and subject nations, the reins of power in their hands. Returning to Japan, they faced a bitter disillusionment and demoralization; and understandably indulged in nostalgia for the past. One can see why Japanese readers and audiences identified with Yukiko’s nostalgia for Dalat - the good old days that were gone…
In this short extract from Naruse’s 1955 hit movie, Floating Clouds, we see Yukiko (played by Hideko Takamine), in dismal mood, alone in dark squalid conditions, [deserted by her lover, not wanting to be dependent on her brother-in-law (who had sexually abused her in her younger days), jobless, back in the ruins of Tokyo after returning from sunny Indo-China soon after the Japanese defeat.] The rain leaks into the room. Rain is a recurring symbol of misery and bad luck in the writings of Fumiko Hayashi and the films adapted from her works by Naruse. It will feature prominently in the scenes at the end of the film, when Yukiko finally appears to have achieved her heart’s desire, union with her lover on a remote island off the coast of Japan, only to fall fatally ill and die.
The straight cuts and ellipses employed in this scene demonstrate Naruse’s command of an economical method of narration – and discretion. In the entertainment district at night, she is shown looking for work and approached by a kindly American occupation soldier. We only learn that she becomes his mistress retrospectively in the next scene, when Tomioka, her old lover from Indochina days (played by Masayuki Mori, who also is paired with her in When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) returns to Tokyo and seeks her out, finding her gaudily dressed, like a prostitute or a kept woman, with a supply of American cigarettes and plenty of food. She gives him a cigarette and later buys him sake. Tomioka (Masayuki Mori) comments on her seeming prosperity but she is morose and bitter. He has finally brought her some money but too late. She reproaches him.for his selfishness. On the soundtrack throughout the scene we hear the Dalat musical theme, the romantic/mournful/exotic musical theme which returns to the sound track throughout the film whenever the central couple resume their constantly interrupted and tortured relationship. This meeting is interrupted by the arrival of the American, Joe. She quickly and efficiently steers him out into the street and walks him down it, arms affectionately embracing him, the action shot from behind, but soon returns to Tomioka. She lights candles (which could be seen as a romantic touch but more specifically references the lack of electricity). He makes snide remarks about her current prostitution; she retaliates with reference to his own past sexual indiscretions and infidelity to his wife. She pointedly quotes a poem Joe taught her about longing for a lost love – clearly referring to their romance in Indochina. He expresses grudging admiration for her – as a strong independent woman. When she rebuffs his overtures, he insults her by drawing explicit attention to her prostitution. .
Characteristically for Naruse, we have basically two sets: an outdoor street set and an indoor room set. Repeatedly throughout the film we see the couple singly or together walking along a street, often shot from behind; and drinking sake and smoking cigarettes around a table (at home, in a bar or hotel) while they torture each other with recriminations.
The lighting is also used very effectively. The depressed conditions in early postwar Tokyo are underlined by the dark lighting and dark wintry dress, which contrast with the bright sunlight and light tropical dress used in the flashback scenes set in Indochina.
When he leaves at the end of this unhappy scene, he is shot from behind walking away down the alley. Her emotional turmoil, her remorse for driving him away, her continuing desire for him, her disappointment at being too late, are powerfully evoked by a sharp reversal of camera angle in the street scene, as she runs towards the camera in a futile effort to reach him; her desolation at her failure underlined by a howling wind on the soundtrack.