The Ballad of Narayama

The story

In a poor 19th-century Japanese village, anyone who reaches 70 is expected to leave home and be carried to a mountaintop to die rather than bring shame on the family. Sumiko Sakamoto is Orin, now 69 and facing the winter when that duty will fall to her. Before then, she turns to the unfinished business of the household, especially finding a wife for her eldest son, Tatsuhei (Ken Ogata). As the family prepares for the ritual journey to Narayama, the film stays close to the village’s hard customs, crowded domestic life, and the blunt practicalities of survival.