Ukigumo (Floating Clouds), Mikio Naruse’s 1955 Masterpiece, Restored for Cannes Classics

Mikio Naruse (1905-1969) is one of the more obscure great masters of Japanese cinema. This, despite creating works characterized by an intricate yet subtle style similar to that seen in films by Yasujirō Ozu, with whom he shared the same sensibility. In the West, the filmmaker – who wrote and directed Tsuma yo bara no yô ni (Wife! Be Like a Rose!) (1935), a critical success in Japan, and Okaasan (Mother) (1952) – did not truly gain international recognition until the early 2000s.

Cannes Classics presents a newly restored version of Ukigumo (Floating Clouds), one of Naruse’s many adaptations based on books written by Fumiko Hayashi, a major figure in Japanese literature. At the time the film was made, the filmmaker was working for Tōhō, having learned the ropes on the set of the first silent films made at Shōchiku. A bibliophile since childhood, Naruse felt a special connection with the works of Fumiko Hayashi. He adapted six of her novels for the screen: Meshi (Repast) (1951), Inazuma (Lightning) (1952), Tsuma (Wife) (1953), Bangiku (Late Chrysanthemums) (1954), Ukigumo (Floating Clouds) (1955), and Hōrōki (A Wanderer’s Notebook) (1962).

This delicate film has an understated look and feel that enchants film lovers everywhere. The story takes place in post-war Japan, a time and a place that allow Naruse to explore themes that intrigued him: melancholy, resignation, and a profound lucidity toward the fragility of human connections.

Mikio Naruse’s glorious career ends in 1967 with Midaregumo (Scattered Clouds), one last portrait of a woman, just one of the many who spoke to us through his work.