One of Naruse’s most underrated films, Nadare describes a love triangle in which Goro (among the most detestable of Naruse’s many flawed male protagonists, played by his regular collaborator Hideo Saeki, 1912-2003) is torn between his wife and a childhood friend. It was based on a serialised novel by the popular author Jiro Osaragi (1897-1973), many of whose books were adapted into films. The screenplay was prepared by Tomoyoshi Murayama, a playwright whose outspoken leftwing convictions are reflected in the film’s critique of the Westernised upper class. Although Murayama retained credit for the original draft, his version of the script differed significantly from the final one, which was completed by Naruse himself.

One of the assistant directors on the film was a young Akira Kurosawa. He complained that Naruse insisted on “doing everything himself”, leaving his assistants with nothing to do, and wryly related that he fell asleep on set, only for his snoring to enrage the director. Nevertheless, he was impressed by Naruse’s discipline on set and expertise, and testified that he had learned much from his method of “of building one very brief shot on top of another, which, spliced together in the final film, […] give the impression of a single long take”.

The film excited the ire of various contemporary film critics. Fuyuhiko Kitagawa complained about the literary material’s unsuitability for cinematic adaptation, while “Kinema Junpo”’s Seiji Mizumachi disliked the obtrusive technique in which a kind of gauze or blind falls over the image in order to allow characters to speak their thoughts to the audience, as if in a theatrical aside. Seen today, this gesture seems refreshingly experimental. The film is generally stylish: Tetsuya Hirano rightly praises the dynamism of scenes shot around Nagoya Castle, the imagery of sunlight filtering through the trees, and the panning shots of the protagonist walking in the rain.

Alexander Jacoby e Johan Nordström

Terse, economically paced, stylish and fascinating, the fifth and final film that Naruse directed in 1935 (it was released on 21 December of that year) was loosely inspired by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, and was actually referred to as The Cherry Orchard (Sakura no sono) during production. It shares the Russian playwright’s theme of a family in decline, but relocates his story from an aristocratic milieu to that of a family-run business, and alters the structure of the family. A mother-daughter story becomes the story of Kenkichi, proprietor of a liquor store, and his two daughters by different women.

The contrast between siblings Kunie and Kimiko personifies the characteristic 1930s polarity between the kimono-clad traditional woman and the modern girl (moga). Masumi Tanaka aptly writes that “the contrast between the old-fashioned sister, who clings to traditional ethics, and the younger sister, who defiantly tries to escape into the modern world, foreshadows Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sisters of Gion, made the following year.” Older sister Kunie is again played by Sachiko Chiba, the lead actress in Tsuma yo bara no youni and P.C.L.’s top star.

The film was a critical success, earning Naruse his second mention in that year’s “Kinema Junpo” Best Ten critics’ poll, where it ranked eighth. It also scooped the top prize in a film competition sponsored by the Tokyo “Nichinichi Shimbun” (now the “Mainichi Shimbun”). “Kinema Junpo” critic Seiji Mizumachi wrote that Uwasa no musume made him feel “a particular appreciation of the talkie format”, which “helps to express the psychology of the drama”.

A few months later, Minoru Murata directed a more faithful adaptation of The Cherry Orchard, which was released under that title. But as Susanne Scherman notes, “Naruse was praised as having a better understanding and grasp of the original work.” According to Audie Bock, the success of the film ensured that Naruse would be able to work with artistic freedom at P.C.L.

Alexander Jacoby e Johan Nordström