In Plain Sight

On today’s episode we discuss Summer Clouds (1958) and Scattered Clouds (1967). Summer Clouds centers on a family of farmers dealing with the complications wrought by both legal and social changes. Scattered Clouds is Naruse’s final film and it chronicles a doomed romance of two well-intentioned people who share an unspeakable tragedy. We are presenting this discussion to you in conjunction with the screenings of these films that are set to take place in New York at Metrograph on June 28 and 29. With regard to home viewing, Scattered Clouds is available on Criterion Channel.  Discussion of Summer Clouds starts at (2:06) and discussion of Scattered Clouds starts at (42:37) Our latest episodes on Naruse’s films are being released in conjunction with the retrospective in New York that Japan Society and Metrograph are hosting – “Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us.” The retrospective is also set to travel to Berkeley, where BAMPFA will be hosting the series from July 3 to December 21, 2...

On today’s episode we discuss Flowing (1956) and Late Chrysanthemums (1954). Both films depict the lives of current and former Geishas as their way of life becomes threatened by cultural and economic forces. This episode was initially recorded in February 2023 and we are presenting it to you in light of the screenings that are set to take place in New York and Berkeley. Both films are available on Criterion Channel. Our latest episodes on Naruse’s films are being released in conjunction with the retrospective in New York that Japan Society and Metrograph are hosting – “Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us.”  The retrospective is also set to travel to Berkeley, where BAMPFA will be hosting the series from July 3 to December 21, 2025. We include the links to the retrospective schedules below: - New York’s Mikio Naruse retrospective - Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us              - Metrograph Schedule - https://metrograp...

  On today’s episode we discuss one of Mikio Naruse’s greatest films, Lightning (1952). Naruse paints a despairing portrait of a dysfunctional family dynamic whose sourness does not preclude the possibility of transcendent experience. This episode was initially recorded in October 2022 and we are presenting it to you in light of its recent screening in New York. Lightning is not one of the Naruse films on Criterion Channel, but it is available via the Internet Archive. You can find a link to the full film below.  Our latest episodes on Naruse’s films are being released in conjunction with the retrospective in New York that Japan Society and Metrograph are hosting – “Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us.”  The retrospective is also set to travel to Berkeley. BAMPFA will be hosting from July 3 to December 21, 2025. We include the links to the retrospective schedules below: - Link to full film - Lightning (Japanese Title: Inazuma) - https://archive.org/details/inazuma_202104 -...