A Kindai Eiga Kyokai Production
BY PLAYER
Starring NAOTO TAKENAKA
KEIKO OGINOME
HIDEKO YOSHIDA
NOBUKO OTOWA
Music by HIKARU HAYASHI
Photographed by YOSHIYUKI MIYAKE
Lighting by HIROSHI YAMASHITA
Production Design by SHIGEMORI SHIGETA
Sound Recording by SUSUMU TAKE
Edited by YUKIO WATANABE
Produced by JIRO SHINDO
Directed by KANETO SHINDO
Taiji Tonoyama
Me, Taiji, at 5.
My younger brother and me.
At center, my father.
I was in 4 th grade at Taimei School.
Ten years old.
My father ran a restaurant in Ginza.
Excuse me.
Stay here.
I went to Kobe a few times a year.
My father bought me a ticket.
He saw me off.
He came to Kobe three days later.
He bought beef as a gift...
for his woman in Tokyo.
You mean your mother, don't you?
No. My step-mother.
Not your real mother?
The woman in Kobe was.
Welcome!
Come in!
Another cup of coffee!
My step-mother.
My father fell in love with her,
and left my mother.
So you went to Kobe.
My younger brother was amicable.
He flattered her calling her "Mom."
But I couldn't get along with her.
So I went to Kobe to see my mother.
She'd married a clocksmith.
She welcomed me.
I want to tell you everything.
Why?
You know.
Kimie! A new patron!
More coffee!
The Kamo River.
Shijo Bridge.
Tell me everything, if you want to.
All right. I'll be honest with you.
When I was 16, I laid a whore.
My friend's father ran a brothel.
You can have any girl you like.
Good! I'll have my first!
You'd better change.
You were a schoolboy then!
We all went to the brothel.
Filthy!
Sex isn't filthy.
Sex means...
I'm hungry. Let's eat.
Hi!
Supper for two!
There was a call from Daiei Films.
I know. No job tomorrow.
What a bum actor!
I'll be a big star someday.
I'll order stewed chicken.
You like stewed chicken?
Anything will do.
Order it.
Come on!
Hurry!
Kimie, let's have a drink.
Just a swig.
I've never had liquor.
This is beer, not liquor. It's like water.
Beer is beer, not water.
Let's toast.
To us!
Nice and cold.
Have a swig. You'll feel fine.
Good? Drink more.
Kimie.
I love you.
You know...
I'll go home.
I'll be quiet.
Let's eat.
You okay?
Why ask?
I put a pill in your glass.
Is it starting to work?
No, it's a lie!
I was kidding!
No pill in your glass!
I'll go back.
No.
What a bother!
How old are you?
36.
Kimie is 17. Much older than her.
I feel as if I were 20.
Still you are 36.
Yes. Sorry.
A taxi bumped into me.
My lawyer is getting ready to sue.
Too bad.
Some drivers are rough.
Take care.
My bones are fractured.
Age weakens your bones.
Be careful.
How long have you been an actor?
Since I left school.
17 or 18 years.
Ever get a leading role?
I'm a byplayer.
A supporting actor. No leading roles for me.
One of "many others."
Supporting actors aren't "many others."
Without us, stars can't do anything.
Your father ran a restaurant in Ginza.
You know everything.
You told that to Kimie, didn't you?
I wanted her to know about me.
Yes, I told her everything.
That's your tactic to seduce her.
I didn't seduce her.
I proposed to her.
An actor, you must be good at wooing.
I swear to God, I meant it!
God? What god?
Many gods.
Are you on the run?
Why?
Why hide your face with sunglasses?
Not my face. I'm hiding my eyes.
Eyes are part of a face.
Even at night?
In bed, too?
Not when I sleep.
You really want to marry Kimie?
Yes, I really do.
Is it true you broke her cherry?
Not exactly.
It was offered.
You took her to a hotel, drugged her beer
and raped her.
Not at all!
We mutually agreed.
She's not a virgin now. You can marry her.
Thank you.
Not yet.
Are you a bachelor?
I have a woman called a wife.
I'll get a divorce.
Can you leave her?
I swear!
Good! Get a divorce first.
Then come back.
Thank you!
"My Good Wife" (1951)
Consider well.
Study scenario-writing for a year.
If you can't make it, I'll give up.
You'll give up, too.
Then we'll think about our future.
You have talent, so you've succeeded.
No. I'm a stranger to talent.
It's just I was patient.
Patience is all.
Actress Nobuko Otowa
His first impression wasn't favorable.
I was surprised to hear he'd marry Kimie.
He already had a woman like a wife.
He said he fell in love with the girl.
Kamakura
"Taiji"
Hi!
Shooting over?
Not yet.
Why come back?
Save your train fare.
I want to talk.
"Get a divorce?"
Try to understand.
Why "divorce?" We aren't married yet.
Really?
We aren't a legal couple.
You were 18, me 17, when we met.
A long time ago.
"Legally or not, we're man and wife."
"Why bother about a marriage certificate?"
You said that.
Did I say that?
While you went to war, who kept your house?
Who supported you after the war? Who fed you?
You know who?
Tell me.
Taiji. How could you say you want a divorce?
She should have been angry.
While he was jobless, she worked hard to feed him.
I'm sorry.
Did your wife agree?
Well, yeah...
I asked, "Did your wife agree?"
I think she will.
She refused?
That's right, but...
Don't worry.
You're a boat drifting in a stormy sea.
No good for my daughter.
There's a way.
Where were you produced?
"Produced?"
I see.
I was born in Kobe. And you?
Kawachi.
Of the Kawachi Song?
You know that?
Of course!
Really?
No, no.
That's not the Kawachi Song.
Don't underestimate it.
Sing it for me.
Hack actor!
He takes every chance.
Your dad amazed me.
As if he got a bone-fracture!
He's timid by nature. He wanted to make himself look great.
Since my mother died, he fed eight children by himself.
I saw no one else.
My sisters got married. My brothers are independent.
I'm left alone.
Kimie.
You love me?
Well, yeah.
Just like that?
When I drank beer, I fainted. Remember?
I was acting.
Really?
I love you, Taiji.
Kimie.
Let's be together forever!
Honestly, I'm afraid.
Let's go to Tokyo, the capital!
I love you!
"Ditch"
Give me something to eat.
Four Years Later
Akasaka, Tokyo
This is my hideout, home sweet home.
Remember.
Miss Nobuko Otowa.
Don't let the director know.
There are two persons who scare me.
My woman in Kamakura
and the director.
Does your woman know?
Not yet, but...
She has keen intuition.
She'll find out soon.
Confess before she finds out.
You'd better settle it.
Offense is the best defense.
Right?
Taiji, listen carefully.
We weren't married before. I went to City Hall,
and registered myself as Taiji Tonoyama's wife.
Another thing.
I decided to adopt my aunt's daughter.
A counter-blow.
Then I'll have your child.
Sorry. I can't be a father.
I got clap after I laid the whore.
Then I'll adopt a child, too.
Must I adopt so many children?
She challenged me.
Kimie, I love you!
Prove it.
This curry lacks spice.
Don't eat it!
I like it.
Don't waste food!
The hairdresser is played by Nobuko Otowa.
While her husband went to war,
she fell in love with her employee.
It was adultery.
After the war, her husband returned.
The young man was afraid and ran.
The woman chased him.
She found him at Shirogane Spa in the mountains.
So "Shirogane Double Suicide."
Torahiko Tamiya wrote the story.
That's the point!
I feel fine.
In a hotel there,
a one-armed clerk worked.
He tried to soothe her sorrow.
That's my part.
A one-armed man?
A nice role.
Very nice.
Hiroyuki Nagato plays the young man.
He escaped from the hairdresser, and disappeared.
She cut her wrist,
and jumped off a cliff.
She died.
I went to pick up her body.
I asked for a rope.
The director said, "Action!"
I went down the cliff.
I heard a sound...
like cutting a rope.
My body was in the air.
I was flat on the snow at the foot of the cliff,
waiting for Taiji, in vain.
There was a confusion on the cliff.
I thought Taiji was really dead.
I thought we'd stop shooting.
But the director continued.
They say you think of the most important thing before you die.
All the events in your life flash in a moment.
In my case, nothing like that.
What flashed was...
Kimie...
Only you.
No flattery! I'll punish you.
You thought of your woman in Kamakura, didn't you?
Ouch! You're killing me!
I love you.
I love you, too!
Let's do it.
The director said...
"We must make a film starring Taiji."
I remember those days.
How are my buddies?
We were isolated in deep China.
Communications men didn't fight.
We only kept quiet, hiding.
Doing nothing bored us.
The leader wanted entertainment.
Furuta was a musician. He ran a tea house.
He gathered clarinetists and accordionists.
Jazz was banned during the war.
We played "Tree of Love." The soldiers cried.
I staged a drama.
Ohutaro of Shin Hasegawa's "My Mother."
The starring role.
Me, his mother.
Chutaro goes from town to town looking for his mother.
"Nothing can cut our bondage.
"We're mother and son,
"tied with an invisible string.
"It binds us as long as we live.
"I'm from Banba, Omi.
"The son of an innkeeper.
"I'm Chutaro. Mother!"
The Yangtze River was the color of coffee.
Slowly as a pacing cow,
we went forward upstream.
Nobody knew where to go.
Hello!
A customer here!
Nobody in? How careless!
It's open to bur glars.
Been a long time!
Hi!
Your wife lives here. Drop in sometimes.
Yoshiko, this man with sunglasses is your father.
He's a busy actor.
If you can't come, send money.
I pay your tax.
Naturally. You have a wife and a daughter to support.
Say hello.
Hello.
The master's back!
Don't walk naked. Be decent.
Even if I'm your man, don't show it around.
"Adam and Eve" is your idea.
You went to Kamakura again.
The woman wanted me to see her adopted girl.
If you miss her so much,
why not live with her again?
This is my home.
What did you say when you proposed?
You said you'd marry me.
We're doing the same thing.
Don't touch me!
I'll adopt a child, too.
What?
You, too?
I came to Tokyo to be your wife.
"Eye for an eye!" There's a movie with that title.
You can't come in. Consider well.
Get out!
Hi!
I didn't expect you. Working all night?
My secretary drove me out.
Secretary? Ah, the girl you picked up in Kyoto.
Give me beer.
Taiji.
I'm your fan. Let's shake hands.
Sure, lovely girl.
You can stay here. You're welcome.
The bathroom?
This way.
What are you doing?
Excuse me. Where's Taiji?
Who are you?
Inner room?
What are you doing?
I'm "calculating."
Damn fool! Many phone calls from the studios!
I'm winning the game.
Hepatocirrhosis.
Too much drinking.
Touch it. It's as big as a baseball.
It's serious.
I hear he's going to shoot a film.
We shot the winter and spring scenes.
We'll shoot summer scenes.
If he goes, he'll die.
Never mind. I'll go.
I can't let my patient die.
But I'll go.
Ask the director. He'll stop you.
He wants to shoot the film.
He's a decent director. He won't insist.
Will he?
Well, the director insists.
He's not afraid of dying. Please let him go.
You're all crazy.
"The Island" (1960)
We filled the pails with water.
The bar bends to the weight of water.
The director likes the way it bends.
The boat won't go straight.
It made my palms rough.
We eat rice balls for lunch.
"To: Mrs. Kimie Tonoyama"
"Dear Kimie,
"How are you?
"Tokyo must be hot every day.
"This island is heaven, the sea all around.
"The sea breeze is nice and cool.
"There's no hotel.
"The staff stayed at the homes of villagers.
"We were 15, including two performers.
"The smallest film-making crew in the world.
"We take a nap after lunch.
"There's no liquor shop on the island.
"Darling, I want to make love to you,
"but all I can do is dream.
It was like divine punishment.
We carried water up the slope every day.
Why does the director make a film without dialogue?
Photogenical beauty counts.
He wants the best photography.
He's cherished the idea for years.
No one will be interested in a film without dialogue.
If it's no good, he'll throw it in a ditch.
When this film is complete,
the Kindai Eiga Kyokai will go bankrupt.
Win or lose.
No "win." Only "lose."
It'll be a tremendous waste of film.
No pay for me.
But your disease healed.
He saved your life.
It's sold to France, Benelux, South America, India and China.
"The Island" won the Grand Prix at the Moscow Film Festival.
The director?
He's in Moscow.
Great news! We won't go bankrupt.
Let's drink to it.
Orange juice for you. No alcohol.
Not today!
This is the time to celebrate!
"The Man"
"The Island" was a big hit.
It cleared all the debts, and
made enough money to make another film
from a story by Yaeko Nogami.
We camped on the west coast of Izu.
"To eat from the same pot...
"is the original form of group production," the director said.
The director, Kei Sato, Kei Yamamoto and me...
rented a room at a seaside geisha house.
But the rain lasted for two weeks.
Be quiet!
A butcher joined us and lost all his money.
His wife got mad and yelled.
The director gathered driftwood.
He did it whenever he had time to spare.
He tried to build a fire, but it was hard.
He kept trying.
It irritated me as pressure.
So the three of us - Kei Sato, Kei Yamamoto and me -
changed our room.
"Moby Dick Tavern"
How are you, my darling Kimie?
Been a long time.
Don't flirt.
Aren't you making love to another girl?
We're here to work.
The director's watching me.
I got a new room upstairs in "Moby Dick Tavern."
Ridiculous! You'll fall ill again.
Don't worry.
I won't die leaving you behind.
After finishing this job,
I'll make love to you like a stallion.
Be patient.
Here's news for you.
I'll adopt my brother's child.
Adopt your brother's child?
Can you do it without my consent?
Your woman in Kamakura did. Why can't I?
My brother is here.
A child isn't a doll.
Give me a drink. If you adopt a boy,
you must rear him.
It's orange juice.
You don't like what I'm doing?
No, it's not that.
But...
She hung up.
You should leave him and return to Kyoto.
It's about time.
I'm proud. I'll never leave him or return to Kyoto.
Oh, no!
The director was gathering driftwood again.
The sight gives me pressure.
I feel as if a huge, heavy, square, leaden thing...
comes flying from the sea,
and bumps into my brains.
The director was killing time.
What?!
Damn it!
The long rain!
It already stopped.
This is from the director.
Newspaper from Berlin.
"Keep dry! Director"
Let's drink!
It says "keep dry."
That's why I drink.
Damn it!
Taiji!
That's not the join!
Wake up, Kei!
You're not in the bathroom!
The roof's leaking. Still raining?
The rain already stopped. Strange.
Strange.
It's a sunny day. Hurry!
Sure. Where's the director?
Beside the camera.
Good.
Give me water!
It's in the pot.
I'll tell you the truth.
We killed Sankichi.
To eat him.
So what?
You're cannibals. Devils!
Who made us starve?
If you want to eat meat, eat yourself.
Hachizo, stop!
We were wrong.
We shouldn't have killed him.
We shouldn't have eaten him.
For give us.
For give us!
Taiji was awarded for his starvation performance.
But it wasn't a performance. He was starving.
He could hardly move.
Right, Taiji?
Congratulations!
The Best Actor Award!
Be a good actor.
I was right.
You'll be Japan's best actor.
Let's make love.
During the day?
I love you, Kimie.
Taiji, dear!
I love you so much!
Congratulations!
Thanks.
I bought a big fish for you.
Stay here tonight.
I got a job tomorrow morning.
I'll wake you.
Make love to me.
Lucky man!
You always take another woman. Why not me?
Congratulations, Father!
She goes to junior high.
Thanks.
Hello!
Cleaning the house?
You slept with your wife?
I had to. She locked the door.
I was confined.
She made love to you? She couldn't let you go.
Her adopted child has grown up.
I'm thirsty.
The city water stopped.
Yasuo, come here.
Hello.
I adopted him.
What?
My brother's son.
This is your new father.
"Mother"
He was a devil, unlike her ex-husband.
The background is Hiroshima.
We camped in a community hall beside the Ota River.
The staff and actors rented rooms in the city.
We built an open set
and started shooting.
This is your third time.
I'm depraved.
Nobuko Otowa plays a widow who marries me for her sick child.
The director said sex between men and women is the base of human beings.
This man is my husband.
The director always works in summer.
He wants the blazing sun....
when he shoots his film.
It's tough.
I'm soaking with sweat.
Evening calm is intolerable.
The wind from the sea stops
and heat wave creeps on the ground.
Mr. Tonoyama!
Yes! What do you want?
Nothing.
The director's order?
Good night.
He watches me to keep me dry.
Damn him!
Let's be bedmates.
Why am I here?
We got a call from the bar.
"Mr. Tonoyama fell ill. Take him away."
The director and his assistant went there.
The director?
You threw up on his back.
I'm finished!
I threw up on him!
I wish I were dead.
Taiji, what happened?
What are you doing here?
You shouted, "Bring Kimie from Tokyo!"
So the director called her.
What did you do?
I'm depraved.
Fool! I told you not to drink while shooting.
Who got the award?
Taiji, I slept with you for 100,000 yen.
Pay up.
Nonsense! You said 50,000 is enough.
The rest is for drinks.
Right, Taiji?
Don't be so friendly.
I'm Taiji Tonoyama's wife. Let's talk outside.
"Keep Dry"
No liquor.
What a waste!
When thirsty, drink water.
"Onibaba"
There were two rulers.
Takauji and Masashige
fought for rulership.
Samurai were crazy about war.
Farmers were starving.
A mother and her son's wife...
killed soldiers on the run,
and sold their weapons to a merchant.
I play the merchant.
Merchant.
Kyoto burned down. The emperor ran to the mountains.
No more big battles.
Only skirmishes.
Weapons won't sell.
We set up a camp beside Lake Inba.
Hey!
Where should I piss?
Somewhere in the grass.
Shit in the grass too?
That's right.
I can't. The cops might pick me up.
It's a period film.
Eat your lunch.
Curry again?
I'll go dry!
Where's the director?
Go dry!
"Director"
I'll only eat, shit...
and work from now on!
"Conquest"
After "Onibaba,"
we camped in a chestnut forest in Tanba for "Conquest."
I had a room in the barracks.
No mats on the floor.
Like any other room, the director's and the stars.
The summer in Tanba was like a steam bath.
I was ringing wet.
Under the hot tin roof,
sweat melted my makeup.
It's the story of Moronao, a hick who became a ruler.
He wanted to lay Kyoto ladies.
A flatterer pandered pretty women to him.
She mentioned Lady Kaoyo.
Moronao tried to seduce her.
But she was a chaste wife.
Her husband decided to leave Kyoto with Lady Kaoyo and his clan.
Revolt! This is a revolt!
Meet me in heaven.
I've been happy.
Me, too.
Farewell.
Kill yourself.
I can't.
Please kill me.
Lady Kaoyo, for give me!
My lady.
There was no bar in the village.
When night fell, we all went to the only liquor shop.
We drank on the bench.
You're on the producer's side.
The director says "creation by all."
We're confined to the barracks.
I've been here 20 days without taking a shot.
The room's an oven. Centipedes creep on my face.
What do you think about this camp?
I'm sorry.
It's the director's principle for film-making.
Forgive him.
Maybe the director is giving us stress
so that suddenly we'll burst into action.
He may like it, but we don't.
To hell with his realism!
I have this stranger from Tokyo for my roommate.
Your snoring bothers me.
You can't blame me!
On rainy days the director kills time angling in a pond.
But there's no fish there.
He 's well aware of it.
Why angle in a fishless pond?
How can I tell him that?
Assistant director.
It's true he's giving us stress so we'll burst into action.
But that's his principle. If you don't like it, leave.
He's a Shogun.
Mr. Eitaro Ozawa is next door.
If he knocks twice,
it means "be quiet."
What stress!
Taiji's gone. He disappeared.
Ma'am?
You awake?
How come I'm here?
You were dead drunk.
The bar hostess brought you here.
What's the matter?
What happened?
It's the sun.
The sun?
The blazing sun.
The sun's blazing every day.
Give me beer! Three bottles!
I want gin. Bring it.
I like beer mixed with gin.
Who do you think you are?
The "Best Actor" awardee!
Shut up!
I'm a hack actor.
The director must be angry.
He wished you'd live while making this film.
I could die after this film.
Don't be silly!
If you died, your family would starve.
Live, Taiji!
No shooting today because of me?
The director took a day off.
So don't worry.
How considerate!
Look at me!
What a sinner!
Take me to the director!
He should beat me.
He said you should go
to the Kameoka hospital and have a good rest.
That day I had a hangover. I had no appetite.
I was reading Agatha Christie...
Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly.
Like the film "Plenty of Sun" starring Alain Delon.
He was in the Mediterranean, me in Kameoka Basin.
They say moles die in the sun.
I'm a mole.
Sake
Canned sardines.
No shooting today?
We're here to shoot. No holidays.
Of course.
Another round.
No preaching.
Another round!
You all right?
What if I'm not?
Nothing.
I wanted to see my mother.
Ma'am!
Is there a taxi here?
Not in the village. Go to town.
Get one for me.
We have a pickup to take you to the camp.
Look, a taxi!
10,000 yen? No change.
Keep the change.
Where to?
Kobe.
Kobe?
Kobe.
It's far. It'll take three hours.
Where in Kobe?
The heart of Kobe.
Where's the heart?
Never mind. Get moving!
You saw your mother?
Yes, for ten minutes.
Where?
Near the seaside clock shop. She married the clocksmith.
I toddled over to Kyoto.
Hi, Taiji!
You're shooting in Tanba?
No work today?
Toshiko.
You're beautiful. Why?
Got a lover?
Have no secret love.
I wish I could.
I'm hungry for a man's touch.
I'm always ready.
I hope you'll take me once.
But you have Kimie. I give up.
Then, just a kiss.
Not only a kiss.
Only a kiss. I swear!
Kimie.
Kiss me.
Stupid. You're dying.
I'm no good.
If so, you can't be an actor.
What can I do?
You have no aspiration!
Aspiration.
Taiji!
That's no way to talk to your husband.
Hi, Yukari. Give me beer.
Aren't you hungry?
I eat plenty.
For sex, fool!
Stupid.
Yukari, do you have aspiration?
What's that? Food?
No. Your will to go forward.
I feel I'm going backward.
Just like me.
Let's make love.
Taiji...
What are you doing?
I'm sorry.
You mustn't waste food.
I'm in despair!
Kimie, dear.
I was drunk, that's all.
I won't do it again.
How many girls do you need?
Can't you be satisfied with my body?
I am.
I'll try.
We're through!
Wait, Kimie!
Where are you going?
For give me, Kimie!
I'll never flirt again.
I'll never see you again.
They're watching us.
Let everybody watch us!
Kimie. Forgive me.
You're my jewel.
You're muddy.
I love you, Kimie.
You're my shining star.
I love you!
Porno today, a priest tomorrow...
A schoolmaster the day after...
I'm a hack actor, so I play any part.
What are you doing?
I don't deserve this.
It's your treasure.
It's suffocating me.
Stupid!
I'll dump it.
Are you crazy?
Thank you.
What's this? A gift from heaven?
A souvenir from a game hall.
What a fool!
You hit me!
God will punish you for this.
How? There's no god.
There is. God of performances.
I'm no good.
Plain water.
Oity water isn't sake.
Wipe your mouth.
I'm 68 years old.
I'm getting old, for sure.
The older I get, the fewer my jobs.
Actors have to wait for calls.
It's tough to wait for calls.
My "secretary" is 49.
Hi, Yasuo.
Surprise.
Yasuo is in college now.
I was going to adopt him,
we aren't legally married.
I can't adopt him.
Kimie 's determined to be my legal wife.
I'm to blame for not doing it.
Taiji.
My neighbors said, "Your husband stays home all day.
"Is he sick or something?"
It's a shame for an actor to be at home.
She nags at me because she loves me.
Pretend you're going to work.
Don't you want to improve yourself?
I'm waiting for calls.
No call, no job.
I'm going to work!
Going to work!
Jazz is music for human beings.
"A Deciduous Tree" (1986)
We went to Hiroshima.
The new film is his biography.
A story of the director's mother.
I thought he wasn't a city boy.
He was a farmer's son.
Even after he went to school he suckled his mother.
I suckled my mother as a schoolboy.
Taiji.
Yes?
A call.
For me? Who from?
Your "secretary." Who is she?
My second wife.
Where's the phone?
Put on some speed!
Speeding is against the law.
No traffic cops around.
What if we bump into something?
When will we get to Kobe?
Kobe?
That's too far.
This is Hiroshima.
You should go by train.
Take a bullet train at Onomichi.
What's your mother doing?
She's eighty, as healthy as a shining sun.
Really? My mother's dead.
Kimie, I'm coming to Kobe!
Mom!
I'm sorry.
Forgive your unfilial son.
Mom!
Hi! What do you want?
I'm a busy actor now.
You don't look busy.
I choose my jobs.
Yoshiko's getting married.
Congratulations! To whom?
A teacher. One of her co-workers.
Will you attend my wedding?
Yes, I will.
Not in jeans.
I know.
I'll borrow something from the studio.
What a pretty bride!
Father...
Mother...
Thank you for rearing me.
I'm a bad father.
I did nothing for you, but
you were kind to me.
Be happy, Yoshiko.
I'm not acting now.
I'm back.
Welcome home.
A gift.
Did you greet the groom's parents?
I tried to. I'm an actor.
I once played the role of a bride's father.
I said, "Please be nice to my daughter."
A couple of teacups. Is it for everybody?
That's right.
No, only for us.
So she finally approved we're man and wife.
No. It's her insinuation.
But let's take it favorably.
I've suffered more than 20 years.
Sure. Interpret things in your favor.
By the way, I have good news.
Yasuo wants to get married.
What? Married?
He's only 19.
He's a student.
Where is he?
He's got a date.
He's too young.
I was 17 when you wooed me.
He'll have to support his wife.
How?
His wife will work, too.
Give me beer.
No alcohol. Drink juice.
Juice will do.
Take care of Yasuo.
Legally, I'm not your father.
Not even a foster-father.
You are my father.
You think so? That's nice.
Don't care about us.
Think only of your happiness.
We can't help you financially.
You don't have to take care of us when we're old.
I did nothing for you.
So don't try to look after us.
Sing a song for them.
I sang a wedding song.
Like Kafu Nagai, the great novelist, I write a diary.
I'm 70 now.
In the old days, people rarely lived to be seventy.
But nobody congratulates me.
Our life span has quickly improved.
Seventy years isn't rare.
For a hack actor, I'm in trouble.
My phone stopped ringing. No offer of job.
I've lived too long.
Following my secretary's advice, I pretend to go to work.
I'm going to work!
Shinjuk u is my favorite town.
Old woman, still alive?
Give me noodles.
When I was young, I married a man like you.
It was a fatal mistake.
I'll end up a cheep noodle vendor in Shinjuku.
You still want a man?
I could love you.
Taiji, be nice to women.
Take care of them with all your heart. Don't cheat them.
I'm going to work!
From one street to another...
I drifted like a floating weed.
I used to come to this school as a child.
Ginza Street.
It was long ago when I walked with my wife on that street.
I'm going to work!
Old lady.
I'm going to work.
Where are you going, Taiji? Wherever my feet carry me.
Oh, my Asakusa! I missed youl
Hi!
How you doing?
My favorite bean shop.
I bought a pack.
I like salted beans.
I made it a habit to buy mystery books here.
This is where I used to drink.
Hi!
The usual.
I drink a glass of campari soda.
Hello, Taiji.
Do I know you?
Why not? We slept together.
Oh, Marble from Ikebukuro!
Let's go to my place.
I'm sorry.
Recently I'm not good enough as a man.
Disasters come unexpectedly.
You can't tell what awaits you.
I went to Hiroshima on business.
On my way home, I sailed to Iguchi Island with my "secretary."
Setoda on this island...
is where my father was born.
This is our honeymoon.
Oh, my hometown!
Hold me in your arms!
I wanted her to see the house where my father was born.
Why did my father leave such a beautiful island?
It's hard to understand humans.
Nobuko Otowa took me to a hospital.
I tried a gastrocamera.
It was like a bolt through my throat.
I didn't like it.
I had no appetite. It worried me.
Operations won't do him any good.
He has only half a year to live either way.
Shall we tell him?
I can't tell him.
Tonoyama speaking.
Really?
I see.
Thank you.
A job! Director Imamura!
"Black Rain."
Patience brings luck.
Aspiration!
Yes.
Taiji speaking.
I see.
I'll take it.
Thank you.
Another job! Director Koyama!
He was our assistant director before.
He's a good one.
"The Sadako Story."
Fortunes come in twos and threes.
Maybe...
Taiji speaking.
Director Horikawa?
"War and Flower," eh?
I'll take it.
Thank you.
Congratulations!
Fortunes flooded on me.
Aspiration!
Some directors still need me. Great directors!
I'm going to work!
I mean it!
I'm going to work!
I mean it!
Shut up!
Drop dead!
What's wrong?
My belly's swollen.
My pants don't fit.
Your job?
I'm through with Imamura and Koyama.
I'll take one more shot with Horikawa.
After that, I'll have a long vacation.
It won't work.
Give me a belt.
Shall I accompany you?
No! I don't want my wife to watch me work.
Taiji.
You called me your wife.
You're my wife.
Thank you. Taiji.
Got suspenders?
Yes.
You've gained weight.
I'm a gourmet.
I played the mailman who takes a report of death from the War Office.
Mr. Tonoyama! Let's test!
Come up with the report!
Ready? Go!
Stop there and say, "Here's a report of death!"
I'll take it there.
You're tired. Stop there.
Let me do it as written in the script.
All right. Let's take this one.
Action!
Your son was killed in action.
It's an honor.
Tonoyama, we've taken all your shots.
Thank you.
I'm okay. Hands off!
Director Shohei Imamura
He couldn't move.
But I wanted a little erotic mood.
He took an old lady's hand like this.
He moved his hand heavily.
Director Seijiro Koyama
It was a long monologue, 6 or 7 lines.
He used to complain if his lines were long.
But not that time.
He spoke his lines perfectly.
Director Hiromichi Horikawa
I could use another actor.
But he insisted.
Where am I?
A hospital at Surugadai.
Thank the Kindai Eiga Kyokai staff.
Kimie.
Yes?
When I get well,
I'll work hard.
I'll make money.
I'll be rich.
You'll live easily.
Sure. Let's save money.
This is Kimie, from Tokyo.
I won't go. Take care of him.
The director came.
You were asleep, so he returned.
Please save his life.
This is my message for the director.
I'm a non-aspiring hack actor.
Thank you for taking care of me.
Taiji, you're very aspiring.
Look at this.
A ring. Put it on my finger.
Thank you.
I'm no good.
Thanks for everything.
I love you!
Kimie, sing the Kawachi Song for me.
There in Akasaka, Tokyo,
on the alley of Hitotsugi
live the famous actor, Taiji,
and his beloved wife.
They pledged to love eternally.
"Where you go I follow.
"Hold me in your arms... "
Taiji Tonoyama was a stranger to God. He didn't go to the world beyond.
He just vanished.
English Subtitles by TADASHI SHISHIDO
A KANETO SHINDO FILM