A Distant Cry from Spring

I have first seen this movie in the 80s. I was only a child and the movie was on Romanian television, who at that time only transmitted in black & white. Funny how I still remembered the opening scene with the stranger arriving at an isolated farm during a storm. I found the movie now almost by chance. I heard that Ken Takakura died last year and I was very sad to hear it, I always liked his stoic acting. I searched IMDb for his movies and found this one among others. I love the movie. I have seen others with better plot, better directing, maybe better actors ... maybe. But there is something so authentic, so simple and yet so deep about this movie that I just love it. By the way, the last scene is incredible. One of the all-time classics, in my opinion. If you can get the movie don't miss it.

A widowed mother lives with his only son of 8 in a remote place of a village, takes care her farm full of cows and crops. She works hard especially in the springs. One rainy night an unknown man comes to take shelter and goes away the next morning. He comes back after some days and tells that he will work with her in exchange of his shelter. The woman takes him as a salaried staff. The man and the woman work a lot in the farm. Day by day the unknown and mysterious man win the heart of the mother and son both. But everything is not everlasting. The man must have to leave for a reason. What is the reason? Why he came here?

One of the best drama movies ever. The place where the movie is located is such a great place full of natural elements. I love this movie. Recommended.

I'm not a native English speaker, I'm not gonna irritate the movie.

This is my favorite movie of all time. I've watched it for ten times or more. It is simple, no trick, no extra adornment. Both the story and the scenery in Hokkaido will purify my mind, and they give me warmth at the time when I am most alone. There is no "bad people" in this movie. It's just natural. People are kind, hard-working, willing to help. This movie was produced in 1980. Maybe it was a golden time for the development of Hokkaido. There were beautiful farms, crops, animals, and hopes that would make people beautiful.

Although I've never been to Japan, this movie alone is enough for me to long for Japan. This is the kind of beauty I appreciate from Japanese movies, literature and paintings. Maybe it's a distant cry from the blue mountains, over the vigorous fields, but it is so close to my heart.

I really love this movie, it's not a style for everyone, I just want to write some thing in my mind.

This is my favorite of the films I've seen by director Yoji. Its a simple story, but its so well put together and the two leads, Ken Takakura and Chicko Baisho, both of whom have acted in Yoji films, give straightforward but heartfelt performances. Ms. Baisho's character is a widow with a young child running a farm in northern Japan. On a very rainy night Mr. Takskura's character appears, asking to spend the night. He stays on as a hired hand. The best thing is that there is not a cliché to be found in this film. As the hired hand came from parts unknown and does not appear to have anywhere to go, you wonder where he came from. You find out eventually, but I want you to see this film for the superb direction, story and acting. I really liked Mr. Yoji's "The Yellow Handkerchief" (which Mr. Takakura also gave a stellar performance), but I loved this film. Highly recommended.

The very slow pace challenged me (as sometimes happens when I'm not in the ideal mood for a slower film), but it's subtle in a way that largely works, has beautiful visuals, and Chieko Baisho is as good as always.

I can see why her and Yoji Yamada collaborated dozens of times over so many decades, because her acting and his direction always seems to work so well together.

It's also always fun to see Kiyoshi Atsumi show up in a more serious Yamada film and bring a small amount of levity to a scene or two. As is the case with Yoji Yamada, A Distant Cry from Spring is worth watching because it's by the filmmaker alone; his stuff is always worthwhile.