A Story of Floating Weeds
| A Story of Floating Weeds | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yasujirō Ozu |
| Produced by | Shochiku |
| Written by |
Tadao Ikeda Yasujirō Ozu |
| Starring |
Takeshi Sakamoto Chouko Iida Koji Mitsui Yoshiko Tsubouchi |
| Cinematography | Hideo Shigehara |
| Edited by | Hideo Shigehara |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
|
Release date
|
1934 |
|
Running time
|
86 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language |
Silent film Japanese intertitles |
A Story of Floating Weeds (浮草物語 Ukikusa monogatari?) is a 1934 silent film directed by Yasujirō Ozu which he later remade as Floating Weeds in 1959 in color. It won the Kinema Junpo Award for best film, the third consecutive year an Ozu film won, following I Was Born, But... and Passing Fancy.
The film starts with a travelling kabuki troupe arriving by train at a provincial seaside town. Kihachi Ichikawa (Takeshi Sakamoto), the head of the troupe, is a very popular actor. He takes time off to visit a former mistress Otsune (Chouko Iida), with whom he had a son years before. His son, now a student, does not know that Kihachi is his father, thinking him an uncle. Kihachi and his son, Shinkichi, spend a fruitful afternoon fishing for dace in a nearby river.
When the troupe's performance tour is postponed by the constant downpour around the region, one of the members of the troupe unwittingly reveals a secret: that Kihachi is seeing a woman every day. Otaka (Rieko Yagumo), one of Kihachi’s actresses and his present mistress, decides to pay a visit to Otsune's watering-hole with fellow actress Otoki (Yoshiko Tsubouchi). Kihachi becomes enraged, warns Otaka never to come and harass the mother and son again, and breaks off his relationship with her.
To get back at Otsune and Kihachi, Otaka suggests to Otoki to try to seduce Shinkichi and offers her some money. Otoki waits for Shinkichi at a tree by the road one day and offers to meet after her performance at the same place. Shinkichi agrees to the meeting, and the two start a clandestine love affair.
As time goes by, Otoki realizes she has fallen for Shinkichi. She tells Shinkichi to forget her because she is merely a traveling actress. Kihachi discovers their affair, confronts Otoki and slaps her, demanding to know what she wants. Otoki reveals Otaka's setup, but tells him she now loves Shinkichi and is not doing this for money. Kihachi then beats up Otaka, but realizes he no longer has any control over the affair.
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