is a 1956 black and white

Japanese film 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 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...

drama directed by

Yuzo Kawashima was a Japanese film director, most famous for making tragi-comic films and satires. Career Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Aomori in the Shimokita Peninsula. From his youth, he suffered from a paralysis that affected his right leg and arm. He was ...

based on a novel by Jiro Osaragi and adapted for the screen by Kawashima and Shohei Imamura.

Plot

In post-war Japan a middle aged family man connects with a woman from his past. He has two children, an arrogant son who is torn between his mistress and a new lover, and a disabled daughter who gets mixed up in the affair.

Availability

In 2018 the Japanese film studio Nikkatsu and VOD platform MUBI collaborated on a retrospective of the work of Kawashima to be available to stream in the US to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. ''The Balloon'' was among the films that were screened. In February 2020 the same retrospective was available to stream on MUBI in the Nordic countries.

Cast

* Masayuki Mori - Haruki Murakami *

Tatsuya Mihashi was a Japanese actor best known internationally for his role as Commander Minoru Genda in the 1970 Japanese-American war epic ''Tora! Tora! Tora!''. In addition, Mihashi was known for his roles in Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'', ''The Hu ...

- Keikichi Murakami *

Mie Kitahara is a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1952 and 1960. She is best known for co-starring in a series of films with Yujiro Ishihara, one of postwar Japan's most famous stars, starting with ''Crazed Fruit'' in 1956. They ...

- Mikiko Mikihara *

Izumi Ashikawa is a Japanese actress. Ashikawa was called the Japanese Audrey Hepburn. In 1953, Ashikawa was scouted by director Yuzo Kawashima and joined the Shochiku studio. She made her film debut with ''Tokyomadamu to Osakafujin'' directed by Yuzo Kawashim ...

- Tamako Murakami *

Michiyo Aratama was a Japanese film and stage actress. Biography After graduating from the Takarazuka Music and Dance School, Aratama joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1945. She gave her film debut in 1951, but it was not before 1955 that she left the Takarazuk ...

- Kumiko Yamana * Shirô Amakusa - Yamaguchi, photo shop owner

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balloon, The Japanese black-and-white films Films directed by Yuzo Kawashima 1956 films Nikkatsu films