is a 1957 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

Miyoji Ieki was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He often made adolescents the protagonists of his films, which addressed political themes through personal drama. His most noted works include '' Stepbrothers'' (1957) and '' Naked Sun'' (1958). ...

. The screenplay by Nobuyoshi Terada and

Yoshikata Yoda (14 April 1909 – 14 November 1991) was a Japanese screenwriter. He wrote for more than 130 films between 1931 and 1989. He is most famous for his work with Kenji Mizoguchi. He wrote for the film ''Bushido, Samurai Saga'', which won the Go ...

is based on the novel of the same name by Torahiko Tamiya.

Plot

In 1921, Rie, daughter of a simple carriage driver, is introduced as a maid into the household of tyrannic company commander Kito, his two sons Ichiroji and Gojiro and his sickly wife. Following his wife's death, Kito is forced to marry Rie, who expects a child after he raped her. Rie gives birth to a son, Yoshitoshi, and later to a second son, Tomohide, who are both treated with disdain by Kito and his sons from his previous marriage. Also, she and her sons are forced to live in a small, separate room in the Kito family mansion. One after another, Kito's sons follow in the family tradition and start a military career, although Yoshitoshi only reluctantly so. When Kito learns that Tomohide, still a student, and young maid Haru have fallen in love, he furiously fires Haru and sends Tomohide to his former nanny Masu. Masu tells Tomohide that Haru was sold into prostitution by her family, and Tomohide runs away from her home, his whereabouts remaining unknown. One year after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Kito and Rie live alone in the deserted family mansion. When Tomohide, the sole survivor of the sons, returns home, Kito wants to throw him out again, but Rie, finally talking back to him after almost 30 years of obedience, tells Kito that the house is also hers and her son's.

Cast

Rentarō Mikuni (also sometimes credited as 三国連太郎) (January 20, 1923 – April 14, 2013) was a Japanese film actor from Gunma Prefecture. He appeared in over 150 films since making his screen debut in 1951, and won three Japanese Academy Awards for ...

as Hantaro Kito *

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 Rie * Chōko Iida as Masu * Shoichi Nishida as Ichiroji (as adult) * Hiroshi Kondo as Gojiro (as adult) * Shinji Nanbara as Yoshitoshi (as adult) *

Katsuo Nakamura is a Japanese actor. Nakamura is a former Kabuki actor as well as his older brother Kinnosuke Nakamura. His first film appearance was in the 1955 film ''Furisode Kenpo''. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 5th Japan Academy Prize ...

as Tomohide (as adult) * Hizuru Takachiho as Haru * Nakajiro Tomita as Sagami * Ton Shimata as Ota

Reception

''Stepbrothers'' received the Grand Prix at the 1958 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, sharing it with '' And Quiet Flows the Don''. Kinuyo Tanaka was awarded the 1957

Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is a film award given at the Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1 ...

and co-scenarist Yoshikata Yoda the

Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay The Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay is a film award given at the Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It ...

. In his ''Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors'', film scholar Alexander Jacoby rated ''Stepbrothers'' as "perhaps Ieki's best film", calling it "a film of both political sophistication and emotional intensity".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0262478 1957 films 1957 drama films Japanese black-and-white films Japanese drama films Films based on Japanese novels Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa Films with screenplays by Yoshikata Yoda 1950s Japanese films