The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
In many scriptures, folk tales and legends, many protagonists after finishing their feats on Earth, they would just disappear into oblivion, away from the limelight. Hang Tuah, after reaching an impressionable age when his reflexes took a decline, is said to have just wandered into the jungles of Mount Ophir (Gunung Ledang) to wither away. Some say that he embarked into a journey of self-discovery and meditation to age away and go back into the ashes of Nature. Of course, the romanticised version dictates that he went in search of the elusive drop-dead sultry temptress, Putri Gunung Ledang and they lived happily after in the clouds of ecstasy. Siddharta Gautama and King Krishna are also said to have taken similar path of withering away after realising that their work on Earth was over.
winner film tells the story of inhabitants of a remote mountain area in Japan. Their way of life is so simple. They live in harmony with nature and its inhabitant. Day to day living is dictated by a strict code of conduct which had been passed down over generations. Food is scarce in the mountainous terrain with harsh weathers. Theft of food is dealt with severely by communal justice. And after reaching the age of 70, the elders will be led by their young to basically die up slow death in the icy mountains of Narayama. The elders take it upon themselves a living pride to be able to make it to Narayama akin to a life long pilgrimage.
These rules and regulations help to maintain equilibrium in that small community.
The film suggests that people are no different from other animals in the world we live in. Interspersed between the story-line are picturesque shots of various animals and insects in form of activity like copulation and hanging around, very much like what the human characters are doing. The snakes are also living in the house as characters of the film do but people also eat snakes!
In many scriptures, folk tales and legends, many protagonists after finishing their feats on Earth, they would just disappear into oblivion, away from the limelight. Hang Tuah, after reaching an impressionable age when his reflexes took a decline, is said to have just wandered into the jungles of Mount Ophir (Gunung Ledang) to wither away. Some say that he embarked into a journey of self-discovery and meditation to age away and go back into the ashes of Nature. Of course, the romanticised version dictates that he went in search of the elusive drop-dead sultry temptress, Putri Gunung Ledang and they lived happily after in the clouds of ecstasy. Siddharta Gautama and King Krishna are also said to have taken similar path of withering away after realising that their work on Earth was over.winner film tells the story of inhabitants of a remote mountain area in Japan. Their way of life is so simple. They live in harmony with nature and its inhabitant. Day to day living is dictated by a strict code of conduct which had been passed down over generations. Food is scarce in the mountainous terrain with harsh weathers. Theft of food is dealt with severely by communal justice. And after reaching the age of 70, the elders will be led by their young to basically die up slow death in the icy mountains of Narayama. The elders take it upon themselves a living pride to be able to make it to Narayama akin to a life long pilgrimage.
These rules and regulations help to maintain equilibrium in that small community.
The film suggests that people are no different from other animals in the world we live in. Interspersed between the story-line are picturesque shots of various animals and insects in form of activity like copulation and hanging around, very much like what the human characters are doing. The snakes are also living in the house as characters of the film do but people also eat snakes!
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