Ballad of the Cart

Ballad of the Cart a.k.a. Song of the Cart (荷車の歌, Niguruma no uta) is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Satsuo Yamamoto. It was written by Yoshikata Yoda, based on a novel by activist Tomoe Yamashiro.[1][2][3]

Ballad of the Cart
Directed bySatsuo Yamamoto
Written by
Produced by
  • Wataru Nakayama
  • Saburō Tateno
Starring
CinematographyMinoru Maeda
Edited byAkikazu Kōno
Music byHikaru Hayashi
Production
company
National Rural Film Association
Distributed byShintoho
Release date
  • February 11, 1959 (1959-02-11)
[1][2]
Running time
145 minutes[1][2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

In Hiroshima Prefecture during the Meiji era, simple housemaid Seki accepts the proposal of Moichi, an educated mail carrier, who has decided to quit his job and save money for a warehouse by transporting goods with his wooden cart. Seki's parents disown her for not asking for their approval, and also Moichi's mother, a widow, does not accept her as her daughter-in-law, treating her disdainfully. The couple borrows money for a second cart, and Seki joins her husband in his hard labour life. The film follows Seki through familial and financial difficulties and her raising five children over the next 50 years, and ends with the post-war agrarian reform.

Cast

Production

The production of Ballad of the Cart was funded with the help of Japan's National Association of Women Farmers and produced by the National Rural Film Association.[2] Screenwriter Yoshikata Yoda, a frequent collaborator of director Kenji Mizoguchi, adapted Tomoe Yamashiro's 1956 novel of the same name, a notable post-war example of Japanese "peasant literature".[4]

Release

The film was released cinematically in Japan on February 11, 1959 by Shintoho.[1][2] It was later released on DVD in 2004.[5]

Awards

Ballad of the Cart received awards for Best Director (Yamamoto) and Best Film Score (Hikaru Hayashi) at the 1960 Mainichi Film Awards.[6]

In Kinema Junpo magazine's list of the 10 best Japanese films of the year, Ballad of the Cart reached #4 in 1959.[7]

Reception

Film scholar Alexander Jacoby pointed out the film's depth of characterisation and intelligent script, calling it "exceptionally moving" and "probably Yamamoto's masterpiece".[3]

References
  1. "荷車の歌 (Ballad of the Cart)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. "荷車の歌 (Ballad of the Cart)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
  4. "山代巴 (Tomoe Yamashiro)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  5. "荷車の歌 (Ballad of the Cart)". ぴあ (Pia Movie Life) (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  6. "14th Mainichi Film Awards 1959" (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  7. Hammer, Tad Bentley (1991). International Film Prizes. An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 301. ISBN 9780824070991.
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