Festival, custom; examination, investigation. The examination of the Narayama Festival is an investigation of the local folk customs of Narayama.
The title uses about 2 minutes of aerial footage to depict the snow-covered Mt. Nara. Isolation from the outside world and material scarcity are characteristic of the place. Winter is the worst enemy. The extreme environment gave birth to folk customs unimaginable for people living in a developed society: using potatoes as a bet, letting a woman eat at home signifies the establishment of a marriage relationship, and carrying an old man without a labor force up the mountain to make room. The ration required by new life.
In such a situation, people show strong vitality and strong truth.
There are many profound and contradictory plots reflecting human nature in the film, which moved me very much, but I will not describe them here. Here, I want to discuss something more macro.
Is such a subject better than a family drama?
It may be because most people now live in an era with abundant material resources, and the mainstream culture cares more about love between men and women, and the lack of parents. I'm not trying to say that these things aren't important, I just feel that these stories don't leave enough room for humanity to move around. Ordinary family, ordinary situation, subconscious behavior, simple thought. I haven't looked into the veracity of what happened in Narayama, but it's possible that it was common to the circumstances at the time. So is the similarity of themes pulling down the weight of family dramas in my eyes? It's all part of the truth. Family dramas are excellent such as "Walking Away", and they can also play with the evil taste of human nature, but they are not as powerful as "Narayama Festival Exam". However, for the sake of empathy, there is something timeless and universal about such a subject.
PS1: After watching the movie, I called my mother. It seems like a lot of things are less important.
PS2: Every five-star movie is the source of my love for movies.
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