Karumen Kokyo ni Kaeru
A city girl storms a quiet rural village in this iconic light-hearted comedy, which endures as one of Kinoshita Keisuke’s most beloved films.
Just after WWII, in a rural mountain village, the arrival of a girl (Takamine Hideko) and her friend (Kobayashi Toshiko) attracts curiosity from the locals. The girl’s name is Okin, and although originally a village girl, she claims she has now become an artistic dancer in Tokyo going by the stage name of Carmen. The principal of the village school (Chishu Ryu from ‘Tokyo Story’), who considers himself a champion of the arts, is overjoyed to learn that his small village produced such an artist. However, it turns out that Carmen is not a true artistic dancer, but rather a stripper. This film was Japan’s first ever feature produced in full colour, and in Takamine Hideko, had an actress that was loved by many era-defining Japanese filmmakers.
Japan 1951 Kinoshita Keisuke 86m