barutanseijin

Sometimes films turn out better than the books on which they are based, and sometimes they are even more literary or more adventurous. Then again, in many cases they aren't. Naruse had a good streak of successful adaptations of Hayashi Fumiko works, but this one falls short of the others. Naruse's previous Hayashi adaptations somehow find a poetics within the boredom, frustration, and regrets of marriage, but it doesn't happen here. This is odd considering that Hayashi's "Horoki" is already quite poetic. Takamine's offscreen readings somehow come off wrong and she is constantly overacting. This is strangely out of character for her and Naruse, who were known for their restraint and control. The film ends up as a grab-bag of documentary episodes from Hayashi's life, but the book is much more. Meh.

This is ostensibly a sex-education film -- with hardly any education! -- but it's incredibly beautiful. The spring and early summer scenery in Nagano (probably) echo the budding sexuality of the film's young characters. A good dose of German romantic poetry also adds to the barely sublimated sexual atmospherics. The film isn't perfect; the cast is obviously inexperienced and the film hypocritically avoids a frank discussion of sex. But even if the sublimation of sexuality runs counter to the film's surface ideology, it does make for great beauty. A young Sugi Yoko has an uncredited role as a high school student getting a school physical, but Nature is the real star.