Humanity and Paper Balloons

Humanity and Paper Balloons
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	Sadao Yamanaka
Produced by	Toho
Written by	Shintarō Mimura
Starring	Chojuro Kawarazaki Kanemon Nakamura Shizue Yamagishi
Music by	Tadashi Ota
Cinematography	Akira Mimura
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	25 August 1937 (1937-08-25)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Humanity and Paper Balloons (人情紙風船, Ninjō Kami Fūsen^?) is a 1937 black-and-white film directed by Sadao Yamanaka, his last film.

The story is set in the 18th century, and dramatically depicts the struggles and schemes of Unno, a ronin, or masterless samurai in feudal Japan, as well as those of his similarly impoverished neighbours.

Largely unknown outside Japan for years, the film has been hailed by critics such as Tadao Sato and Donald Richie, and Japanese filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa, as one of the most influential examples of jidaigeki, or Japanese period films.

Jasper Sharp of Midnight Eye described the film as "a fascinating time capsule of a movie that not only reframes the feudal period in which it is set to present a harsh critique of the social and political conditions of the time it was made, but also demonstrates just how tight, coherent, and entertaining films from this period actually were." In 2012, Spanish film programmer Fran Gayo listed the film as one of the greatest films of all time.