Sound of the Mountain

In Mikio Naruse's Sound of the Mountain (1954) Setsuko Hara plays a housewife whose husband cheats on her. She faces an insurmountable decision as she has to figure out whether she should divorce him or not. Her close relationship with the father-in-law (who in turn neglects her own daughter) complicates the matter.

Essentially Sound of the Mountain is Naruse's exploration of family and marriage. It might be something he often observes in his films, but he always manages to bring a new aspect or approach to it - and this is not an exception. He handles the intimate "chamber drama" well in order to bring forth interesting details of the characters - which not only deepen the themes, but also make the film a lot more compelling to watch.

Naruse's form is pretty much the same as it is in his other films. His formal choices are barely noticable, but they are surprisingly powerful. In general it works well, but it is not mindblowing. In Naruse's film the soundtrack is often a bit of a nuiscance, but it isn't that bad this time.

Sound of the Mountain is a fine achievement for a director who is slowly becoming one of my all time favorites.

Score: 9 out of 10