Scattered Clouds is no less than the end of an era: Naruse died two years later - it was his last film - Ozu and Mizoguchi had been dead for years and Kurosawa was in the wilderness after the end of his collaboration with Mifune. Like elsewhere in the world newer, fresher (cinematic) ideas took over. Which isn't to say that Scattered Clouds isn't one of Naruse's best and moving films. Yoku Tsukasa must be one of the world's most beautiful women - ever, and a very talented actress as well. In this story of impossible love between a widow and the driver who accidentally killed her husband her restrained performance crowns a career that encompasses work for Ozu, Kurosawa and Kobayashi
7 Reviews
Men Suffer Too
boblipton13 June 2019
Yûzô Kayama loses control of his car when a tire blows and kills Yôko Tsukasa's husband. Although a court finds him not guilty, he insists on paying her 15,000 yen a month; his company transfers him to a rural branch.
Meanwhile, Miss Tsukasa is angry about her husband's death, angry that his family wants to remove her name from the family register so they can collect his death benefits, humiliated that she must accept this blood money. When her brother's widow invites her to move back to the family inn, she accepts, and refuses any further from Mr. Kayama. Her sister-in-law's married lover wants her to become the mistress of a business associate to further his prosperity; and the branch of the company that Mr. Kayama has been transferred to uses that very inn to entertain clients.
Mikio Naruse's last movie is about the plight of a woman in modern Japan, trapped between her own desires and emotions and public expectations. It differs from the stereotyped idea of his movies in that Kayama is not a villain, not even unthinkingly so. He is as trapped by the terrible accident as she is, caught by his own sense of right and wrong. He wants to do right by this woman he has wronged. He wants to get out of the small hick town. He wants.... well, he wants what he cannot have.
Naruse and his crew indicate the dullness and repression of modern Japanese society by, among other choices, using a repressed color palette. Almost everyone dresses in greys and tans, and the first flash of red isn't seen until almost half an hour has passed.
Meanwhile, Miss Tsukasa is angry about her husband's death, angry that his family wants to remove her name from the family register so they can collect his death benefits, humiliated that she must accept this blood money. When her brother's widow invites her to move back to the family inn, she accepts, and refuses any further from Mr. Kayama. Her sister-in-law's married lover wants her to become the mistress of a business associate to further his prosperity; and the branch of the company that Mr. Kayama has been transferred to uses that very inn to entertain clients.
Mikio Naruse's last movie is about the plight of a woman in modern Japan, trapped between her own desires and emotions and public expectations. It differs from the stereotyped idea of his movies in that Kayama is not a villain, not even unthinkingly so. He is as trapped by the terrible accident as she is, caught by his own sense of right and wrong. He wants to do right by this woman he has wronged. He wants to get out of the small hick town. He wants.... well, he wants what he cannot have.
Naruse and his crew indicate the dullness and repression of modern Japanese society by, among other choices, using a repressed color palette. Almost everyone dresses in greys and tans, and the first flash of red isn't seen until almost half an hour has passed.
Force of destiny carries the narrative in Naruse's swansong
topitimo-829-2704592 December 2019
Naruse's final four films paint an interesting picture of this artist at the end of his career. "Midareru" (Yearning, 1964) was a work, where he crafted his signature style to perfection for the final time. "Onna no naka ni iru tanin" (The Stranger Within a Woman, 1966) and "Hikinige" (Moment of Terror, 1966) where something different; the director's experiments or even forays into suspense and crime narratives. The latter featured a narrative centered around a case of hit and run, supported by a critique of today's cold mentality and heavy traffic. These are interesting films to keep in mind while assessing Naruse's final work "Midaregumo" (Two in the Shadow, 1967), which starts off from a traffic accident and then moves on to become a loose reworking of "Yearning".
Many reviewers have pointed out, how this, among all Naruse films, most resembles the style of Douglas Sirk. I agree. After a series of films in black and white, Naruse got to once more make a film in fresh, summery colors, and to use this tranquil beauty as the backdrop for a narrative about pain, love, and communal expectations. In a way, it's not that far from Sirk's "All That Heaven Allows" (1955), though you could just as well name "The Magnificent Obsession" (1956) as the closest thematic counterpart. And to keep on with the comparisons, the lead-couple of beautiful people whose acting is so-so kind of brings to mind the likes of Lana Turner and John Gavin.
Mishima (Kayama Yuzo) is a company worker, who kills the husband of Yumiko (Tsukasa Yoko) in a car accident. He is guilt-ridden, even though the court does not find him guilty of anything. The company sees him as bad publicity, and transfers him to an office in a remote part of the country. As destiny would have it, this is also where Yumiko travels to take her mind off the pain. The couple bump into each other, and gradually out of guilt and hate, warmer feelings start to form.
The score is far from minimal, and helps to establish the larger-than-life feelings of the story. It also helps Naruse to keep other elements more subtle, and the film goes on in a pace that's very careful. The film is very reserved on the outside, and you get the sense that it hides the biggest angst deep down. Yumiko does not know how she should act when the man who killed her husband suddenly becomes a part of her life. Even though the cast of characters is small, one always has to be nervous about how other people view your actions.
I don't know if Naruse knew this was going to be the final one for him, but he manages to assemble together most of the key players of his final decade of film-making. Kayama played practically the same role in "Yearning", while Tsukasa played the hit-and-run driver in "Moment of Terror". Those can't be coincidences. Other familiar faces from Naruse's earlier films include Kato Daisuke, Hama Mie, Nakamura Nobuo, and Urabe Kumeko. It's a shame that Takamine Hideko is absent, but then again after 20-something collaborations with Naruse, we can't really fault them for taking breaks once in a while, too.
In the end, "Midaregumo" is not one of the director's best works, but still a more confident closing chapter for his filmography than what his two previous films would have been. The film is a bit loose, and a bit too slow, and possibly Naruse has difficulty to make the beautiful summery landscapes work for the benefit of the narrative's internal darkness. Still, it's an interesting look at how the force of destiny tampers in the lives of individuals, and a functional companion piece for "Yearning", his last masterwork.
Many reviewers have pointed out, how this, among all Naruse films, most resembles the style of Douglas Sirk. I agree. After a series of films in black and white, Naruse got to once more make a film in fresh, summery colors, and to use this tranquil beauty as the backdrop for a narrative about pain, love, and communal expectations. In a way, it's not that far from Sirk's "All That Heaven Allows" (1955), though you could just as well name "The Magnificent Obsession" (1956) as the closest thematic counterpart. And to keep on with the comparisons, the lead-couple of beautiful people whose acting is so-so kind of brings to mind the likes of Lana Turner and John Gavin.
Mishima (Kayama Yuzo) is a company worker, who kills the husband of Yumiko (Tsukasa Yoko) in a car accident. He is guilt-ridden, even though the court does not find him guilty of anything. The company sees him as bad publicity, and transfers him to an office in a remote part of the country. As destiny would have it, this is also where Yumiko travels to take her mind off the pain. The couple bump into each other, and gradually out of guilt and hate, warmer feelings start to form.
The score is far from minimal, and helps to establish the larger-than-life feelings of the story. It also helps Naruse to keep other elements more subtle, and the film goes on in a pace that's very careful. The film is very reserved on the outside, and you get the sense that it hides the biggest angst deep down. Yumiko does not know how she should act when the man who killed her husband suddenly becomes a part of her life. Even though the cast of characters is small, one always has to be nervous about how other people view your actions.
I don't know if Naruse knew this was going to be the final one for him, but he manages to assemble together most of the key players of his final decade of film-making. Kayama played practically the same role in "Yearning", while Tsukasa played the hit-and-run driver in "Moment of Terror". Those can't be coincidences. Other familiar faces from Naruse's earlier films include Kato Daisuke, Hama Mie, Nakamura Nobuo, and Urabe Kumeko. It's a shame that Takamine Hideko is absent, but then again after 20-something collaborations with Naruse, we can't really fault them for taking breaks once in a while, too.
In the end, "Midaregumo" is not one of the director's best works, but still a more confident closing chapter for his filmography than what his two previous films would have been. The film is a bit loose, and a bit too slow, and possibly Naruse has difficulty to make the beautiful summery landscapes work for the benefit of the narrative's internal darkness. Still, it's an interesting look at how the force of destiny tampers in the lives of individuals, and a functional companion piece for "Yearning", his last masterwork.
The surface of the volcano
WilliamCrocodile27 October 2019
Regardless of Naruse's whole career and movies (which are great), this last one is remarkable in many ways. But above all, what best defines the movie is what it is not: loud, flamboyant, predictable. Given the same script who would have made such a movie? Even Douglas Sirk, the king of melodrama would not have resisted the temptation of something more dramatic and controversial .
Naruse's movie has what 99% of all movies lack: discretion, delicacy, respect.
Yet it is a passionate movie if you can imagine and feel what the characters experience, what is boiling under the surface of the polished Japanese volcano.We too want to yell and free the caharacters from all the weight and pressure of a rigid society.
Experience something different: no sex, no killing, no bloodshed, nothing low. Feelings and inner turmoil, at the highest degree, near incandescence.
A great movie!
In the shadow of Sirk
nmegahey17 February 2018
Despite some recent interest in his works in the west, Mikio Naruse has still largely remained in the shadow of his contemporary Yasujiro Ozu, a comparison that has hasn't served Naruse well. Despite some superficial genre similarities however, a wider look at Naruse's work - few of the director's 89 films have been seen outside Japan - shows that the comparison really isn't even merited. Shot in Tohoscope and in colour, Naruse's gorgeous melodrama Scattered Clouds is closer to Douglas Sirk than Ozu, but it's also possible to consider the film's style and subject matter as being influential on other Asian filmmakers like Wong Kar-Wai (In the Mood For Love) and the Korean master of romantic melodrama Hur Jin-Ho (April Snow). The pace is more sedate, but considering the nature of the encounter here, the passions are necessarily of the slow-burn kind.
It takes that long for Yumiko's feelings to change towards the man who was responsible for her husband's death in a car accident. Shiro, a driver for an escort/entertainments company, has been cleared of any wrongdoing, but can't help but feel a sense of guilt for what has happened, particularly when Yumiko is subsequently disinherited from her husband's family protection. It's this sense of guilt on both sides, for different reasons that draws the couple together, and at the same time proves to be an impossible impediment to the love that they eventually feel for each other.
Strikingly shot, delicately understated, with the occasional abstract poetic cutaway to sustain mood and tension, the pacing and balancing of emotions is masterful as the film builds towards a quietly devastating conclusion.
It takes that long for Yumiko's feelings to change towards the man who was responsible for her husband's death in a car accident. Shiro, a driver for an escort/entertainments company, has been cleared of any wrongdoing, but can't help but feel a sense of guilt for what has happened, particularly when Yumiko is subsequently disinherited from her husband's family protection. It's this sense of guilt on both sides, for different reasons that draws the couple together, and at the same time proves to be an impossible impediment to the love that they eventually feel for each other.
Strikingly shot, delicately understated, with the occasional abstract poetic cutaway to sustain mood and tension, the pacing and balancing of emotions is masterful as the film builds towards a quietly devastating conclusion.
Yôko Tsukasa cannot fill the shoes of the great Hadeko Takamine
savagedudeguy26 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Scattered Clouds (Mikio Naruse, 1967) - 8.25/10
Probably the biggest disappointment that I've encountered so far with Naruse but in my mind, he really can do no wrong. This doesn't have quite as much insight as Ozu's swan song An Autumn Afternoon. Frankly, it's a very good example of how Naruse can walk a fine line between melodrama and tragedy. Yôko Tsukasa, unfortunately, is not an adequate replacement for the great Hideko Takamine. Fumiko Hayashi, who wrote many of Naruse's great post-war dramas isn't present either, instead replaced by Nobuo Yamada who is mostly known for writing Masahiro Shinoda's Assassination. It's not that the story is particularly bad, but it's just perfectly set up for melodrama. It begins with a death in the family, much like in Naruse's Daughters, Wives, and a Mother but seems to take the exact opposite route. Where as the tragedy in that film is very much downplayed, it seems to be, if anything, magnified here. Despite all this, it is one of his more technically impressive efforts and probably the one with the least amount of dialogue. The opening sequence, in particular, was quite a surprise. It would be smart to read most of the negative comments I left about this film as a comparison to Naruse's other efforts because this is still a very good film but at this point, I expect a little bit more from him.
Probably the biggest disappointment that I've encountered so far with Naruse but in my mind, he really can do no wrong. This doesn't have quite as much insight as Ozu's swan song An Autumn Afternoon. Frankly, it's a very good example of how Naruse can walk a fine line between melodrama and tragedy. Yôko Tsukasa, unfortunately, is not an adequate replacement for the great Hideko Takamine. Fumiko Hayashi, who wrote many of Naruse's great post-war dramas isn't present either, instead replaced by Nobuo Yamada who is mostly known for writing Masahiro Shinoda's Assassination. It's not that the story is particularly bad, but it's just perfectly set up for melodrama. It begins with a death in the family, much like in Naruse's Daughters, Wives, and a Mother but seems to take the exact opposite route. Where as the tragedy in that film is very much downplayed, it seems to be, if anything, magnified here. Despite all this, it is one of his more technically impressive efforts and probably the one with the least amount of dialogue. The opening sequence, in particular, was quite a surprise. It would be smart to read most of the negative comments I left about this film as a comparison to Naruse's other efforts because this is still a very good film but at this point, I expect a little bit more from him.
Wait A Minute, There Were No Scattered Clouds In Scattered Clouds!
mmallon427 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The plot synopsis of Scattered Clouds (aka Two In The Shadow or its original Japanese title Midaregumo) sounded fascinating and had me asking myself, how does such a scenario play out in a believable and non-contrived manner? A man falls in love with the widow of a man whom he killed in a car accident and eventually, she falls in love with him in return. Sounds like the type of intriguing fodder for a daytime talk show, I can just imagine the Jerry Springer-style title - "I'm In Love With The Man Who Killed My Husband". However, the closest counterpart to Scattered Clouds is Lloyd C Douglas' 1929 novel Magnificent Obsession (itself later adapted into a 1954 film by Douglas Sirk).
There is a little-known acronym for a person who is responsible for the accidental death or injury of another known as a CADI (Caused Accidental Death Or Injury). The term has no official recognition but to date is the closest term in existence for such an individual. Mishima Shiro (Yuzo Kayama) accidentally kills another man by the name of Hiroshi Eda (Yoshio Tsuchiya) in a car accident, leaving his wife Yumiko (Yoko Aizawa) widowed. The accident itself is not portrayed on screen nor does it have any build-up, it is just announced out of nowhere 8 minutes into the film, making its impact all the more shocking and reflective of reality. Mishima is later found in court to be not guilty of negligence (lost control of his vehicle due to a burst tire) and the film shows the negative toll it takes on the CADI with his company forcing him to relocate which in turn ends his current relationship and leads to depression. At the same time, his guilt and compassion result in him paying money in monthly installments to the newly widowed Yumiko even though he has no legal obligation. That said, Mishima doesn't have the wisest of intentions when he chooses to actually attend the funeral of the man he accidentally killed (even if it is to pay his respects), and easily gives away that he is the man responsible (keeping in mind he hasn't been acquitted at this point). Evidently, his unwise decision-making extends to later in the film with his cringe-worthy attempt to woo Yumiko with a Tommy Wiseau-level line ("You were so cute, like a child, when I surprised you. Actually, you were amazingly sexy too").
The tragedy of Yumiko Eda on-the-other-hand actually reminded me of George Bailey from It's A Wonderful Life, a character whom the world is their oyster with the prospect of travelling and seeing the world, only to have it taken away and instead find themselves stuck living in a dead-end town. Before his untimely death, Yumiko and Hiroshi were set to move to Washington D. C. after he got the job as an ambassador for the company he works for. This plight of a woman who was dependent on her late husband also results of the disappearance of her unborn baby, only in the womb for three months at the time of her husband's accident. Shortly afterwards she goes to a hospital in which all that is shown is a doctor telling her to count to seven, after which there is no mention of the baby: miscarriage, abortion, stillborn? Abortion was and still is legal in Japan if the mother meets an economic threshold of poor living conditions. Prior to this scene in the hospital, Yumiko is forced to endure dehumanizing bureaucracy following her husband's death (not to mention there are even discussions of Hiroshi's replacement at his own funeral) in which she is told "No additional postnatal allowance will be paid for a pregnancy under five months" - make of that that what you will.
The plot in Scattered Clouds does have some reliance on coincidence bringing the characters of Yumiko and Mishima together. In particular, Mishima is relocated by his company to the town in which Yumiko grew up and decides to move back following her husband's death (that being Aomori in the prefecture of the same name) but does so without the contrivance getting in the way. Scattered Clouds does a remarkable job of conveying the naturalistic evolution of their relationship, going from Yumiko's inability to even look at Mishima to the pair eventually falling in love. Much has to be commended for the chemistry of the two actors in making this transition believable but the real turning point in the relationship is when Mishima finally challenges Yumiko on the way she treats him despite all the amends he has tried to make, only then does she herself begin to feel a sense of guilt. I believe the other aspect which aids the believability of this unorthodox romance is the Florence Nightingale syndrome from when Yumiko spends the night caring for Mishima after he catches a fever. Scattered Clouds can serve as a companion piece to Mikio Naruse's earlier film Yearning (Midareru), with both films featuring Yuzo Kayama in a highly unlikely will they/won't they relationship.
Scattered Clouds also has an odd distinction of featuring quite a few "put-downs" of various eastern hemisphere cities. Aomori, where much of the picture takes place (not to mention filmed) is described as having people who are blunt and unfriendly as evidenced by the waitress at the café, serving coffee with no care. Then the city of Lahore in western Pakistan (from which Mishima is to be transferred) is described as an "awful place" as well as the movie claiming it is the birthplace of cholera. I can't find any evidence this is the case so was this a misconception in Japan at the time (I suppose it doesn't help when your city sounds like the name of a French prostitute)? To wrap things off, whether justly or unjustly, the film describes Dhaka, Laos, Saigon and Karachi as places no one wants to go.
Scattered Clouds was Mikio Naruse's final film of a 37-year career and can go down as one of the finest directorial finales. Scattered Clouds is only Naruse's 3rd film in colour and only work in the post-black & white era and while the picture does have a more cotemporaneous feel than had it been made a few years earlier, there is still a dreamlike quality present. I just have to enquire as to what is the meaning of the film's title as nowhere in Scattered Clouds are scattered clouds present. Well, the original Japanese title Midaregumo actually translates to Turbulent Clouds (which are present within the film during a key scene in which Mishima comes down with a fever). I guess Scattered Clouds has a more romantic ring evoking classic melodrama.
There is a little-known acronym for a person who is responsible for the accidental death or injury of another known as a CADI (Caused Accidental Death Or Injury). The term has no official recognition but to date is the closest term in existence for such an individual. Mishima Shiro (Yuzo Kayama) accidentally kills another man by the name of Hiroshi Eda (Yoshio Tsuchiya) in a car accident, leaving his wife Yumiko (Yoko Aizawa) widowed. The accident itself is not portrayed on screen nor does it have any build-up, it is just announced out of nowhere 8 minutes into the film, making its impact all the more shocking and reflective of reality. Mishima is later found in court to be not guilty of negligence (lost control of his vehicle due to a burst tire) and the film shows the negative toll it takes on the CADI with his company forcing him to relocate which in turn ends his current relationship and leads to depression. At the same time, his guilt and compassion result in him paying money in monthly installments to the newly widowed Yumiko even though he has no legal obligation. That said, Mishima doesn't have the wisest of intentions when he chooses to actually attend the funeral of the man he accidentally killed (even if it is to pay his respects), and easily gives away that he is the man responsible (keeping in mind he hasn't been acquitted at this point). Evidently, his unwise decision-making extends to later in the film with his cringe-worthy attempt to woo Yumiko with a Tommy Wiseau-level line ("You were so cute, like a child, when I surprised you. Actually, you were amazingly sexy too").
The tragedy of Yumiko Eda on-the-other-hand actually reminded me of George Bailey from It's A Wonderful Life, a character whom the world is their oyster with the prospect of travelling and seeing the world, only to have it taken away and instead find themselves stuck living in a dead-end town. Before his untimely death, Yumiko and Hiroshi were set to move to Washington D. C. after he got the job as an ambassador for the company he works for. This plight of a woman who was dependent on her late husband also results of the disappearance of her unborn baby, only in the womb for three months at the time of her husband's accident. Shortly afterwards she goes to a hospital in which all that is shown is a doctor telling her to count to seven, after which there is no mention of the baby: miscarriage, abortion, stillborn? Abortion was and still is legal in Japan if the mother meets an economic threshold of poor living conditions. Prior to this scene in the hospital, Yumiko is forced to endure dehumanizing bureaucracy following her husband's death (not to mention there are even discussions of Hiroshi's replacement at his own funeral) in which she is told "No additional postnatal allowance will be paid for a pregnancy under five months" - make of that that what you will.
The plot in Scattered Clouds does have some reliance on coincidence bringing the characters of Yumiko and Mishima together. In particular, Mishima is relocated by his company to the town in which Yumiko grew up and decides to move back following her husband's death (that being Aomori in the prefecture of the same name) but does so without the contrivance getting in the way. Scattered Clouds does a remarkable job of conveying the naturalistic evolution of their relationship, going from Yumiko's inability to even look at Mishima to the pair eventually falling in love. Much has to be commended for the chemistry of the two actors in making this transition believable but the real turning point in the relationship is when Mishima finally challenges Yumiko on the way she treats him despite all the amends he has tried to make, only then does she herself begin to feel a sense of guilt. I believe the other aspect which aids the believability of this unorthodox romance is the Florence Nightingale syndrome from when Yumiko spends the night caring for Mishima after he catches a fever. Scattered Clouds can serve as a companion piece to Mikio Naruse's earlier film Yearning (Midareru), with both films featuring Yuzo Kayama in a highly unlikely will they/won't they relationship.
Scattered Clouds also has an odd distinction of featuring quite a few "put-downs" of various eastern hemisphere cities. Aomori, where much of the picture takes place (not to mention filmed) is described as having people who are blunt and unfriendly as evidenced by the waitress at the café, serving coffee with no care. Then the city of Lahore in western Pakistan (from which Mishima is to be transferred) is described as an "awful place" as well as the movie claiming it is the birthplace of cholera. I can't find any evidence this is the case so was this a misconception in Japan at the time (I suppose it doesn't help when your city sounds like the name of a French prostitute)? To wrap things off, whether justly or unjustly, the film describes Dhaka, Laos, Saigon and Karachi as places no one wants to go.
Scattered Clouds was Mikio Naruse's final film of a 37-year career and can go down as one of the finest directorial finales. Scattered Clouds is only Naruse's 3rd film in colour and only work in the post-black & white era and while the picture does have a more cotemporaneous feel than had it been made a few years earlier, there is still a dreamlike quality present. I just have to enquire as to what is the meaning of the film's title as nowhere in Scattered Clouds are scattered clouds present. Well, the original Japanese title Midaregumo actually translates to Turbulent Clouds (which are present within the film during a key scene in which Mishima comes down with a fever). I guess Scattered Clouds has a more romantic ring evoking classic melodrama.
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