Floating Clouds
Encyclopedia
is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film
drama directed by Mikio Naruse
. It is based on the novel of the same name
by Japanese author and poet Fumiko Hayashi
.
Floating Clouds follows female protagonist
Yukiko Koda, a Japanese woman just returned to Japan from French Indochina
, where she has been working as a secretary
. The novel is set after World War II
and contains the common post-war theme of wandering; Yukiko struggles to find where she belongs in post-war Japan, and ends up floating endlessly until her death at the novel's end.
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
drama directed by Mikio Naruse
Mikio Naruse
was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
. It is based on the novel of the same name
Floating Clouds
is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel of the same name by Japanese author and poet Fumiko Hayashi....
by Japanese author and poet Fumiko Hayashi
Fumiko Hayashi (author)
was a Japanese novelist and poet.When Hayashi was seven, her mother ran away with a manager of her common-law husband's store, and afterwards the three worked in Kyūshū as itinerant merchants...
.
Floating Clouds follows female protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Yukiko Koda, a Japanese woman just returned to Japan from French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, where she has been working as a secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
. The novel is set after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and contains the common post-war theme of wandering; Yukiko struggles to find where she belongs in post-war Japan, and ends up floating endlessly until her death at the novel's end.
Cast
- Mariko OkadaMariko OkadaMariko Okada is a Japanese actress. She is married to film director Yoshishige Yoshida.Her father was the noted silent film actor Tokihiko Okada, who before his early death starred in Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Chorus...
- Masayuki MoriMasayuki Mori (actor)was a Japanese actor, the son of Takeo Arishima, a Japanese novelist active during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. Mori appeared in many of Akira Kurosawa's films such as Rashomon and The Idiot...
- Hideko TakamineHideko Takaminewas a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
- Chieko Nakakita
- Sadako Ka
- Daisuke KatōDaisuke Katôwas a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai , Rashomon, Yojimbo , and Ikiru, and Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy and Chushingura.-Filmography:* Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji...
- Isao YamagataIsao YamagataIsao Yamagata was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 64 films between 1951 and 1984.-Selected filmography:, lit...
Awards
- 1956 - Blue Ribbon AwardsBlue Ribbon AwardsThe are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan.The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers...
for best film (Mikio NaruseMikio Narusewas a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
) - 1956 - Kinema Junpo Award for best actor (Masayuki MoriMasayuki MoriMasayuki Mori may refer to:* Masayuki Mori , Japanese actor in Akira Kurosawa's films* Masayuki Mori , Japanese film producer...
), for best actress (Hideko TakamineHideko Takaminewas a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
), for best director (Mikio Naruse) and for best film (Mikio Naruse) - 1956 - Mainichi Film Concours for best actress (Hideko Takamine), for best director (Mikio Naruse), for best film (Mikio Naruse) and for best sound recording (Hisashi Shimonaga)
- 1995 - Named the Third Best film in Japanese history, in Kinema Junpo's 1995 "All Time Best 100" list.