is a 1960 Japanese

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

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won ...

. It is based on the novel ''Otōto'' by Aya Koda.

Plot

Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, 17-year-old Gen takes care of the household of her family due to her stepmother's rheumatism. Meanwhile, her younger brother Hekiro lives a carefree life, repeatedly getting into trouble and making gambling debts. Neither his stepmother interferes with his behaviour, nor does the detached father, a famous novelist. Only Gen scolds Hekiro from time to time, for which he ridicules her, although she is completely devoted to him. When Hekiro falls terminally ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

and is hospitalised, with his sister by his side every minute she can spare, he finally regrets his behaviour. After Hekiro's death, Gen collapses and is taken back home with

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, t ...

by the hospital personnel, but once she awakes, she returns to her role as the housekeeper without questioning.

Cast

Keiko Kishi is a Japanese actress, writer, and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Life and career She made her acting debut in 1951. In the 1950s, David Lean had proposed her for the main role in ''The Wind Cannot Read'', which is about a Japanese language instru ...

as Gen * Hiroshi Kawaguchi as Hekiro *

Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

as Mother * Masayuki Mori as Father *

Kyōko Kishida was a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books. Career Kishida became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima production of the 1960 film ''Salome''. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds. ...

as Mrs. Tanuma * Noboru Nakaya as Patrolman Rokoru Shimizu * Kyōko Enami as Nurse Miyata *

Jun Hamamura was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 1995. Selected filmography * ''Wolf'' (1955) * '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) * '' The Hole'' (1957) * ''The Temptress and the Monk'' (1958) * ''Enjō'' (1958) * ''Odd Obs ...

as Doctor * Hikaru Hoshi as Owner of hiring horse *

Juzo Itami , born , was a Japanese actor, screenwriter and film director. He directed eleven films (one short and ten features), all of which he wrote himself. Early life Itami was born Yoshihiro Ikeuchi in Kyoto. The name Itami was passed on from his fath ...

as Son of Factory owner * Noriko Hodaka as Nurse

Background

In order to achieve a desaturated look, the film made use of a cinematographic technique known as

bleach bypass Bleach bypass, also known as skip bleach or silver retention, is a chemical effect which entails either the partial or complete skipping of the bleaching function during the processing of a color film. By doing this, the silver is retained in t ...

. At the

1961 Cannes Film Festival The 14th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 18 May 1961. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Une aussi longue absence'', directed by Henri Colpi and '' Viridiana'', directed by Luis Buñuel. The festival opened with '' Che gioia vivere'', directed ...

, ''Her Brother'' received a special mention by the French association of image and sound technicians (CST).

Reception

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

cited ''Her Brother'' as one of his 100 favorite films.

Awards (selected)

''Her Brother'' was awarded several national film prizes, including: * Blue Ribbon Award for Best Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography *

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

Award for Best Film and Best Director * Mainichi Film Concour for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction (Tomoo Shimogawara), and Best Actors (starring and supporting) Keiko Kishi, Kinuyo Tanaka, and Masayuki Mori

Legacy

In later years, ''Her Brother'' has seen repeated screenings at festivals and film museums such as the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

in 2008 and 2022, the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

in 2015, and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in 2018.

References

External links

* {{Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film 1960 films 1960 drama films Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Films directed by Kon Ichikawa Films about siblings Films about infectious diseases Japanese drama films Films based on Japanese novels Daiei Film films Films produced by Masaichi Nagata Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa Films set in the Taishō period 1960s Japanese films