How the smallest indiscretions when not accounted for or met head-on progressively escalate into destructive, near-irreparable transgressions. Naruse really never misses when it comes to excavating the underlying pain and sadness that often lurks beneath the veneer of Japan's societal civility. Sudden Rain is a slyly pointed critique of traditional marriage and the subjugation of femininity told through a deeply effective tragedy. Setsuko Hara masterfully exudes the tortured psyche of a woman who does so much for her husband yet receives so little in return. The strength of this woman despite her status is beautifully juxtaposed with her husband, a man that projects strength only to be extremely fragile; a coward whose strength in many ways is predicated through psychological oppression of his wife's own autonomy. There are so many small moments of profound sadness throughout this simple, effective story in which Naruse's precise visual tableaux - particularly his use of blocking, enunciates the underlying sadness and combustibility of this relationship in which love itself simply feels non-existent due to this imbalance of power in their relationship. Yet, through it all Naruse remains hopeful in his denouement, the couple engaging in a volley of an inflatable ball, the repetition back and forth serving as a symbolic device about the symbiotic nature of a relationship, where both parties strengthen each other to keep moving forward in spite of the external obstacles.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|