Yearning

YEARNING
MIDARERU
Japan
1964
98 Min
Black and White
Japanese
DIR Mikio Naruse
EXEC Sanezumi Fujimoto
PROD Mikio Naruse
DP Jun Yasumoto
CAST Hideko Takamine, Yuzo Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Yumi Shirakawa, Mie Hama
ED Eiji Ooi
My Rating : 5/5 (Great Movie)


Yearning explores the relationship between two characters that reaches such complex emotional levels that you will remain astounded by the fact that Naruse has actually done it! It would be a travesty to try and describe this great movie in words and hence I would leave this to the master director himself. All I can do in this review is highlight some things that I think, work in this movie’s favor.
First of all, this is a trademark Naruse movie because although this is a family story, Naruse has achieved it in his own style. The acting is very natural(unlike the formality in Ozu films) which works in its favour. The casting is perfect and almost every character that mattered is well developed. In fact, the character of Takamine’s brother in law is delightfully well written and executed. The editing is so good that the movie feels like a neatly trimmed piece of origami which is a rare feature for a film that dwells on emotions. Finally, the most important factor is Hideko Takamine. She has probably delivered a career defining role in this movie which required tremendous skill to say the least. May her soul rest in peace.