Rice (1957 film)

"The Rice People" redirects here. For the 1994 Cambodian film, see Rice People.

Rice (Japanese: 米, Hepburn: Kome) is a 1957 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai.^[2] It was entered into the 10th Cannes Film Festival.^[3]

Rice
Poster
Directed by	Tadashi Imai
Written by	Yasutarō Yagi
Produced by	Nobusaburō Honda Mitsuo Makino Seiichi Yoshino
Starring	Shinjirō Ehara
Cinematography	Shunichirō Nakao
Edited by	Yoshiki Nagasama
Music by	Yasushi Akutagawa
Production company	Toei
Release date	4 March 1957 (1957-03-04) [1]
Running time	118 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

It is also known by the title The Rice People.^[4]

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 (田村次男 Tamura Tsuguo)
• Eijirō Tōno as Sakuzō
• Yūko Mochizuki as Yone Yasuda (安田よね Yasuda Yone)
• Masako Nakamura (中村雅子 Nakamura Masako) as Chiyo Yasuda (安田千代 Yasuda Chiyo)
• Izumi Hara as Ume Tamura (田村うめ Tamura Ume)
• Yoshi Katō as Takezō Yasuda (安田竹造 Yasuda Takezō)
• Isao Kimura (a.k.a. Koh Kimura) as Senkichi (仙吉)
• Hitomi Nakahara [ja] as Yoshino Tamura (田村よしの Tamura Yoshino)
• Toshiko Okada (岡田敏子 Okada Toshiko)
• Junkichi Orimoto as Fisherman
• Isao Yamagata as Matsunosuke Ōta (太田松之助 Ōta Matsunosuke)

Production

Eastman Color was used for the photography, which Viola Swisher of the Los Angeles Mirror described as having more prominence than the storyline.^[5]

Awards

1957 Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress Yūko Mochizuki.^[6]

Reception

According to Swisher, with the exception of a "poignant" ending, the "coherence in direction and editing" was subpar "[b]y Western standards".^[5]

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.^[7]

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.^[8]

References

1. "米". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
2. "今井正 (Tadashi Imai)". kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 December 2020.
3. "KOME". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
4. Ariyasena Jayasekera Gunawardene; Lesṭar Jēms Pīris; Prasad Pereira (2005). LJP, Lester James Peries Life and Work. p. 98. ISBN 9789558008058.
5. Swisher, Viola (26 December 1957). "Gentle Story of Japan Told in 'Rice'". Los Angeles Mirror. Los Angeles. p. Part B p. 4. - Clipping at Newspapers.com.
6. "ブルーリボン賞ヒストリー (8th Blue Ribbon Awards)" (in Japanese). Cinema Hochi. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
7. King, Pat (20 September 1958). "Japan's Exported 'Rice' On the Rio Screen". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco. p. Section II p. 20. - Clipping at Newspapers.com.
8. Ito, Monte (11 August 1963). "'Rice' Film Held 'Spellbinding'". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. D7. - Clipping at Newspapers.com.

External links

• Rice at IMDb
• Rice at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)