Rice (1957 film)
Rice is a 1957 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 10th Cannes Film Festival.
It is also known by the title The Rice People.
Plot
Two young men, Tsuguo and Senkichi, return to their small home town during the rice planting festival, and try to make a living as fishermen.Cast
- Shinjirō Ehara as Tsuguo Tamura
- Eijirō Tōno as Sakuzō
- Yūko Mochizuki as Yone Yasuda
- Masako Nakamura as Chiyo Yasuda
- Izumi Hara as Ume Tamura
- Yoshi Katō as Takezō Yasuda
- Isao Kimura as Senkichi
- as Yoshino Tamura
- Toshiko Okada
- Junkichi Orimoto as Fisherman
- Isao Yamagata as Matsunosuke Ōta
Production
Eastman Color was used for the photography, which Viola Swisher of the Los Angeles Mirror described as having more prominence than the storyline.Awards
1957 Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress Yūko Mochizuki.Reception
According to Swisher, with the exception of a "poignant" ending, the "coherence in direction and editing" was subpar "y Western standards".Pat King of the San Francisco Examiner praised the "superb" photographic work and the "real" scenery, though she argued American viewers at the time would have found difficulties with how the film jumps between themes.
Monte Ito of The Honolulu Advertiser wrote that the film may cause some viewers to perceive it as boring while other viewers may like the realism.