Mikio Naruse — Director (61)
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Man of the House (1936) IMDb TMDB
桃中軒雲右衛門
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Ryūnosuke Tsukigata / Chikako Hosokawa …
other title: Tochuken Kumoemon / 桃中軒雲右衛門
This film is based on a real Meiji era performer -- and tells of Tochuken's partnership with his wife (played by Chikako Hosokawa) who played shamisen for his songs/recitations), his affair with a geisha (Sachiko Chiba), and the deterioration of his partnership and marriage.
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The Way of Drama (1944) IMDb TMDB
芝居道
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Kazuo Hasegawa / Isuzu Yamada …
other title: Le Chemin du drame / 芝居道
The Way of Drama unfolds in the world of kabuki in Osaka, but also addresses the politics of popular culture and the rivalry between theatrical styles like those used by amateur actors to dramatise contemporary events.
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Learn from Experience, Part Two (1937) IMDb TMDB
禍福 後篇
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Takako Irie / Chieko Takehisa …
other title: Les Vicissitudes de la vie II / 禍福 後篇
Toyomi is pregnant -- and while Shintaro and Yurie are on their extended honeymoon, she bears his child, a girl named Kiyoko. She is supported in adversity by close friend Michiko and her mother but also, surprisingly, Shintaro's mother and siblings. Even moreso, Toyomi and Yurie become friends. Part two of a two-part romance based on a story by noted author Kikuchi Kan.
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Learn from Experience, Part One (1937) IMDb TMDB
禍福 前篇
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Takako Irie / Chieko Takehisa …
other title: Les Vicissitudes de la vie I / 禍福 前篇
Wealthy young Toyomi and Shintaro are in love. However, Shintaro’s father is arranging for him to marry Yurie, the scion of an even wealthier family. The two lovers flee to Tokyo, but when Shintaro returns to proclaim his intent to marry Toyomi, his father browbeats him into attending the marriage meeting with Yurie. Part one of a two-part romance based on a story by noted author Kikuchi Kan.
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Sincerity (1939) IMDb TMDB
まごころ
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Takako Irie / Minoru Takada …
other title: Le Cœur sincère / Sinceridad …
Two young girls, Nobiko and Tomiko, go to the same school. The less fortunate girl Nobiko is one of the top students, while the rich girl Tomiko is not. At one time Tomiko's father was quite fond of Nobuko's mother.
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Movie

No Blood Relation (1932) IMDb TMDB
生さぬ仲
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Shin'yō Nara / Yukiko Tsukuba …
other title: Sans liens de parenté / La hija adoptiva …
An actress returns to Tokyo after a successful stint in Hollywood to reclaim—with the help of her gangster brother—the daughter she abandoned years before.
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Little Peach (1958) IMDb TMDB
杏っ子
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Kyōko Kagawa / So Yamamura …
other title: Anzukko / 杏っ子
Anzukko (Little Peach) is the daughter of a successful writer. She turns down each one of her suitors, until she marries a beginning writer named Ryokichi. Their life quickly sinks into despair.
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Summer Clouds (1958) WikiData IMDb TMDB
鰯雲
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Chikage Awashima / Yōko Tsukasa …
other title: Nuvole estive / Nuages d'été …
A war widow with a young boy manages a farm with her bossy mother-in-law. When a reporter comes to interview her, the two begin an affair. He turns out to be married and won't leave his wife. Her older brother tries to marry off his children and hang on to/ extend his farm through an advantageous marriage in the face of threatened land confiscation and the desire of his children to get comfortable urban jobs instead of the backbreaking work in the paddy fields under parental control.
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The Approach of Autumn (1960) WikiData IMDb TMDB
秋立ちぬ
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Nobuko Otowa / Yōsuke Natsuki …
other title: À l'approche de l'automne / Autumn Has Already Started …
A single mother from the country raising a 6th grade boy comes to Tokyo, leaves the boy to live with his uncle's family, runs a struggling grocery store, and works a local inn. The boy befriends a girl, the daughter of the innkeeper.
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Late Chrysanthemums (1954) WikiData IMDb TMDB
晩菊
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Haruko Sugimura / Sadako Sawamura …
other title: Derniers chrysanthèmes / Crisantemos tardíos …
What is the life of a Geisha like once her beauty has faded and she has retired? Kin has saved, and become a wealthy money-lender, spending her days coldly collecting debts. Even her best friends, fellow Geisha Tomi, Nobu, and Tamae, are now indebted to her. For all of them, the glamour of their young lives has passed; Tomi and Tamae have disappointing children. Kin has two former lovers who still pursue her; one she wants to see, and the other she doesn't. But even the one she remembers fondly, when he shows up, proves less than satisfactory.
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The Girl in the Rumor (1935) WikiData IMDb TMDB
噂の娘
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Sachiko Chiba / Ryuko Umezono …
other title: La Fille dont on parle / La mujer en boca de todos …
A story of two sisters, the older being more traditional, the younger a "moga" ("modern girl"). Their widowed father runs the family sake shop, but is running into financial trouble, causing him to tamper with his stock; Meanwhile, his long-time mistress yearns for something more serious. Amidst this, the older sister is introduced to a well-off suitor: A university boy, much more intrigued by the less traditional little sister. A doddering grandfather, an officious uncle and busybody neighbors also don't make the lives of the hardworking members of the family any easier.
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Untamed Woman (1957) WikiData IMDb TMDB
あらくれ
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Hideko Takamine / Ken Uehara …
other title: Une femme indomptable / Una mujer indomable …
A woman marries, gives birth to a stillborn child, and divorces, falls in love with a hotel-keeper, only to find herself subordinated to his drive for success, takes up with a tailor who cannot console himself with her strong personality.
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Movie

Street Without End (1934) IMDb TMDB
限りなき舗道
director: Mikio Naruse actor: Setsuko Shinobu / Akio Isono …
other title: Straße ohne Ende / La Rue sans fin …
Mikio Naruse’s final silent film is a gloriously rich portrait of a waitress, Sugiko, whose life, despite a host of male admirers and even some intrigued movie talent scouts, ends up taking a suffocatingly domestic turn after a wealthy businessman accidentally hits her with his car.