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sabotai · 02-12-2020, 05:16 PM

限りなき舗道 | Street Without End (1934)

Directed By: Naruse Mikio
Written By: Ikedo Jitsuzô, Kitamura Komatsu
Starring: Shinobu Setsuko, Isono Akio, Yamanouchi Kikaru
Length: 89 min.
Genre: Family Drama

Again with the being hit by a car. Weird how this is a plot point in so many Japanese movies.

Sugiko, a waitress, gets engaged to her boyfriend, even though her bf's family wants him to marry someone else. On her way to meet him, Sugiko is hit by a car. She goes to the hospital, but her bf has no idea. She was hit by a wealthy man, and bf gets a glipse of her in the backseat of his car as they drive by him. He goes to her apartment the next day and Sugiko's roommate says she didn't come home last night.

Well so he gives up and heads back home apparently.

Sugiko is then courted by the man who hit her (well, his driver hit her) and gets married. She was also recruited to be an actress, but her friend got the job instead. No hard feelings, Sugiko is happy for her.

After Sugiko marries the wealthy man, she finds both mother-in-law and sister-in-law very unhappy. Mother-in-law scolds her for being too nice to the servants, and sister-in-law wanted her brother to marry her friend.

Halfway through this movie, there was even a title card that broke the 4th wall and explicitly stated one of the themes of the movie. That Japan's society is clinging to outdated feudal ideas.

I really enjoyed this movie. A lot of characters and moving parts within the plot. Most family dramas just stick with one main conflict and ride it for an hour and a half. This had a good number of conflicts surrounding multiple characters which made the movie's plot progress at a good pace.

Like with most Naruse movies, the camera is moving a lot more than is typical for silent movies. Almost the exact opposite of Ozu, but I enjoy both styles. Naruse's silent movie career goes out on a high note. Not quite as good IMO as Apart From You, but still good. Naruse starts making movies with sound next year, but for some reason, The Criterion Channel doesn't have any sound movies from him until 1951. Looks like I'll have to do some searching.

My Rating: 7/10
IMDB User Rating: 7.0/10 (270 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A Critics (0-0), 50% of Audience (14 votes)

In terms of the number of IMDB and RT votes, I wonder if this is my most obscure movie so far.

02-12-2020, 05:16 PM	#312
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	限りなき舗道 \| Street Without End (1934) Directed By: Naruse Mikio Written By: Ikedo Jitsuzô, Kitamura Komatsu Starring: Shinobu Setsuko, Isono Akio, Yamanouchi Kikaru Length: 89 min. Genre: Family Drama Again with the being hit by a car. Weird how this is a plot point in so many Japanese movies. Sugiko, a waitress, gets engaged to her boyfriend, even though her bf's family wants him to marry someone else. On her way to meet him, Sugiko is hit by a car. She goes to the hospital, but her bf has no idea. She was hit by a wealthy man, and bf gets a glipse of her in the backseat of his car as they drive by him. He goes to her apartment the next day and Sugiko's roommate says she didn't come home last night. Well so he gives up and heads back home apparently. Sugiko is then courted by the man who hit her (well, his driver hit her) and gets married. She was also recruited to be an actress, but her friend got the job instead. No hard feelings, Sugiko is happy for her. After Sugiko marries the wealthy man, she finds both mother-in-law and sister-in-law very unhappy. Mother-in-law scolds her for being too nice to the servants, and sister-in-law wanted her brother to marry her friend. Halfway through this movie, there was even a title card that broke the 4th wall and explicitly stated one of the themes of the movie. That Japan's society is clinging to outdated feudal ideas. I really enjoyed this movie. A lot of characters and moving parts within the plot. Most family dramas just stick with one main conflict and ride it for an hour and a half. This had a good number of conflicts surrounding multiple characters which made the movie's plot progress at a good pace. Like with most Naruse movies, the camera is moving a lot more than is typical for silent movies. Almost the exact opposite of Ozu, but I enjoy both styles. Naruse's silent movie career goes out on a high note. Not quite as good IMO as Apart From You, but still good. Naruse starts making movies with sound next year, but for some reason, The Criterion Channel doesn't have any sound movies from him until 1951. Looks like I'll have to do some searching. My Rating: 7/10 IMDB User Rating: 7.0/10 (270 votes) Rotten Tomatoes: N/A Critics (0-0), 50% of Audience (14 votes) In terms of the number of IMDB and RT votes, I wonder if this is my most obscure movie so far.