is a 1933 Japanese
silent drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Mikio Naruse
was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.
Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...
. The film follows a single mother who works as a bar hostess and her struggles to provide for her son in
depression-era
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
Japan.
Plot
Omitsu works as a hostess in a harbour bar entertaining docked sailors. Since her husband left three years ago, she supports her son Fumio on her own, and shares a flat with a couple who babysit for her. Returning home after a few weeks of absence, Omitsu learns that an unknown man has repeatedly been trying to see her.
The stranger turns out to be Omitsu's husband Mizuhara, who begs for her forgiveness and wants to see his son. Reluctant at first, she finally gives in, and the couple reconcile. Mizuhara declares his intention to take care of his family. Yet, due to his weak constitution, he is unable to find work. During an argument, she urges him not to give up, while he asks her to look for a more "serious" job. Soon after, Fumio is hit by a car, and needs hospital care beyond his parents' means. To keep Omitsu from returning to her hostess job, Mizuhara pretends that he has friends who will lend him money.
Later that night, Mizuhara commits a robbery. When Omitsu realises his crime, she rejects the money and tries to convince him to turn himself in. Mizuhara leaves, asking Omitsu to take care of their son. The next morning, Omitsu learns that Mizuhara has drowned himself. She tears his suicide note apart with her teeth, blaming him for his cowardness. She then pleads with Fumio to grow up to be a strong man.
Cast
*
Sumiko Kurishima as Omitsu
*
Tatsuo Saitō
was a Japanese film actor and director. He appeared in more than two hundred films between 1925 and 1967.
Career
Saitō joined Nikkatsu studios, where he made his film debut in 1925, before moving to Shochiku two years later. He appeared in many ...
as Mizuhara, Omitsu's husband
*Teruko Kojima as Fumio, Omitsu's son
*Jun Arai as Neighbor
*
Mitsuko Yoshikawa
was a Japanese actress who played in over 250 films, often under the direction of Yasujirō Ozu and Hiroshi Shimizu (director), Hiroshi Shimizu.
She joined the Shochiku film studios in 1924 and gave her film debut in 1926 in ''Kujaku no hikari' ...
as Neighbor's wife
*
Takeshi Sakamoto
was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1926 to 1965.
Selected filmography
External links
*
1899 births
1974 deaths
Japanese male film actors
Actors from Hyōgo Prefecture
{{Japan-film-actor-stub ...
as Captain
*Kenji Oyama as Sailor
*Shigeru Ogura as Sailor
*
Chōko Iida as Proprietress
*Tsuruko Kumoi as Waitress
*Teruko Wakamizu as Waitress
*Ranko Sawa as Friend of Omitsu
Reception
Film scholar Alexander Jacoby saw ''Every-Night Dreams'', together with Naruse's ''
Apart From You'' (1933) and ''
Street Without End
is a 1934 Japanese silent drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, based on a newspaper serial by Komatsu Kitamura. It was Naruse's last silent film and his final film for the Shochiku studio.
Plot
Sugiko works as a waitress in a café in Tokyo's ...
'' (1934), as a series of melodramas "of remarkable intensity, where potential happiness is thwarted by hostile environments and practical responsibilities", demonstrating "a considerable stylistic virtuosity".
Keith Uhlich of ''
Slant Magazine'' gave the film four out of four stars, saying, "
ke many Naruse films of the '30s, ''Every Night Dreams'' is somewhat stylistically unhinged, yet the constant rapid push-ins and frenetic cutting (particularly during a striking montage of running legs) feel more to the psychological point than in comparatively showier works like ''
Not Blood Relations'' and ''
Street Without End
is a 1934 Japanese silent drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, based on a newspaper serial by Komatsu Kitamura. It was Naruse's last silent film and his final film for the Shochiku studio.
Plot
Sugiko works as a waitress in a café in Tokyo's ...
''."
''
Midnight Eye
Midnight Eye is a non-profit review website launched in 2001 by Tom Mes, Jasper Sharp, and Martin Mes. The website features reviews and analyses of Japanese films, as well as book reviews and interviews with filmmakers. In June 2015, it was announc ...
'' reviewer Roger Macy stated that ''Every-Night Dreams'' "is arguably one of the most famous Japanese films of the silent era and has had considerable attention in the literature
e story develops with superbly measured pace, with scenes of great comedy and others of much pathos, depicting the world of the great depression for those at the bottom of the heap."
Release
Home media
In 2011, ''Every-Night Dreams'' was released on a five-film
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
set by
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...
's
Eclipse label. Titled ''Silent Naruse'', it collected five silent films made between 1931 and 1934.
References
External links
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{{Mikio Naruse
1933 drama films
1933 films
Japanese black-and-white films
Japanese drama films
1930s Japanese-language films
Japanese silent films
Films directed by Mikio Naruse
Shochiku films
Silent drama films