A Distant Cry from Spring (1980)
Other name: 遥かなる山の呼び声 はるかなるやまのよびごえ 远山的呼唤 远山个呼唤 Harukanaru Yama no Yobigoe Ein ferner Schrei im Frühling L'Écho de la montagne Ett rop ur fjärran Зов далёких гор
Description
I first saw this film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 1981 and have often looked for it since (without any luck). Of the 50 films I saw in those 16 days (including masterpieces by Angelopoulos, and Syberberg's Hitler, A Film From Germany), Yamada's simple story turned out to be my favorite. When it recently turned up in a 5-disk Yoji Yamada box set, I immediately ordered it. Well, the disk is very poor quality, a murky transfer with the widescreen compositions butchered by a truly wretched pan-and-scan job -- and yet the quality of the film still manages to shine through.
On its surface, there's nothing particularly remarkable about A Distant Cry From Spring. A widow struggles to maintain a small farm in a remote area of Hokkaido, fighting the elements and raising her young son. One brutally stormy night, a stranger appears at the door looking for shelter. Though wary, the widow offers him her hospitality. He leaves, but then returns in the spring and asks for work, desiring only room and board in return. What follows is the depiction of a slowly developing emotional bond set against a beautifully observed portrait of daily life on the farm, an endless round of backbreaking chores which constantly threaten to overwhelm the lonely woman.
There is nothing terribly surprising in the revelations which eventually emerge about the characters, but they are so finely drawn and their emotional lives resonate with such authenticity, that only a cold-blooded viewer could fail to be moved by the film's resolution.
Yamada is a master of emotional nuance and a brilliant observer of the small details of ordinary lives, which he obviously holds in some kind of awe, and in which he finds a kind of magic. He makes you feel for the characters without ever stooping to sentimentality or easy manipulation. His work deserves to be more widely known, and he certainly deserves better treatment from DVD distributors.
Director: Yamada Yoji [山田洋次]
Country: Japanese
Status: Completed
Released: 1980
Genre: Drama; Family; Friendship; Romance;
- Ads
- Coming Eps
- Ongoing
Ads
Coming Episode
-
Running Man (2010) Episode 705
About 13 hours -
The Atypical Family (2024) Episode 4
About 13 hours -
Missing Crown Prince (2024) Episode 10
About 13 hours -
Beauty and Mr. Romantic (2024) Episode 16
About 13 hours -
Only Boo! (2024) Episode 6
About 13 hours -
Blue Boys (2024) Episode 4
About 23 hours -
Secret Ingredient (2024) Episode 3
About 2 days -
Lovely Runner (2024) Episode 11
About 3 days -
Lovely Runner (2024) Episode 12
About 3 days -
Whenever Possible (2024) Episode 4
About 3 days -
Begins Youth (2024) Episode 9
About 3 days -
Begins Youth (2024) Episode 10
About 3 days -
Begins Youth (2024) Episode 11
About 3 days -
Begins Youth (2024) Episode 12
About 3 days -
We Are (2024) Episode 7
About 4 days -
Frankly Speaking (2024) Episode 5
About 5 days -
Kare no Iru Seikatsu (2024) Episode 6
About 5 days -
The Brave Yong Soo Jung (2024) Episode 6
About 5 days -
In Cold Blood (2024) Episode 80
About 5 days -
My Sibling's Romance (2024) Episode 12
About 6 days -
Soo Ji & Woo Ri (2024) Episode 35
About 6 days -
The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (2024) Episode 2
About 7 days -
Chief Detective 1958 (2024) Episode 9
About 7 days -
Chief Detective 1958 (2024) Episode 10
About 7 days -
The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection (2024) Episode 15
About 7 days -
The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection (2024) Episode 16
About 7 days
Popular Ongoing
-
The 8 Show (2024)
-
Uncle Samsik (2024)
-
Crash (2024)
-
The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (2024)
-
The Player 2: Master of Swindlers (2024)
-
Connection (2024)
-
Dare to Love Me (2024)
-
The Atypical Family (2024)
-
Girls High School Mystery Class Season 3 (2024)
-
Chief Detective 1958 (2024)
-
The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection (2024)
-
Lovely Runner (2024)
-
Pyramid Game (2024)
-
Missing Crown Prince (2024)
-
Following (2024)
-
Men in Love (2024)
-
The Woman Who Plays (2024)
-
Dreaming of Cinde Fxxxing Rella (2024)
-
What If (2024)
-
Bitter Sweet Hell (2024)
-
Beauty and Mr. Romantic (2024)
-
Frankly Speaking (2024)
-
The Brave Yong Soo Jung (2024)
-
Lady Revenger Returns from the Fire (2024)
-
Dhevaprom: Jaipisut (2024)
-
Law-less (2024)
-
My Marvellous Dream Is You (2024)
-
Wandee Goodday (2024)
-
Bangkok Blossom (2024)
-
Ploy's Yearbook (2024)
-
Memory in the Letter (2024)
-
We Are (2024)
-
Two Worlds (2024)
-
Songkhram Somrot (2024)
-
Tempting Heart (2024)
-
La-ojan (2024)