A Wanderer's Notebook
Encyclopedia
, also known as Her Lonely Lane is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese film
drama directed by Mikio Naruse
, starring Hideko Takamine
. The film is based on the autobiography of author Fumiko Hayashi
, whose work the director often adapted for the screen.
) is a young woman can't find a decent job, meanwhile being dumped by her boyfriend and writing on the side. People say her writing on poverty is good, but she can't sell it and continues with dead end factory and bar hostess jobs and occasional heavy drinking. She gets together with another aspiring writer Fukuya (Akira Takarada
) who can't sell his work either. Despite she doing all she can for him and his disease tuberculosis
, he abuses her verbally and eventually physically. She walks out, comes back, walks out again. A kind man, Nobuo Sadaoka (Daisuke Katō
) helps her occasionally, but she rejects his proposal. After these struggles, the film ends up with her literary success.
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
drama directed by Mikio Naruse
Mikio Naruse
was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
, starring Hideko Takamine
Hideko Takamine
was a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
. The film is based on the autobiography of author Fumiko Hayashi
Fumiko Hayashi (author)
was a Japanese novelist and poet.When Hayashi was seven, her mother ran away with a manager of her common-law husband's store, and afterwards the three worked in Kyūshū as itinerant merchants...
, whose work the director often adapted for the screen.
Plot
Fumiko Hayashi (Hideko TakamineHideko Takamine
was a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
) is a young woman can't find a decent job, meanwhile being dumped by her boyfriend and writing on the side. People say her writing on poverty is good, but she can't sell it and continues with dead end factory and bar hostess jobs and occasional heavy drinking. She gets together with another aspiring writer Fukuya (Akira Takarada
Akira Takarada
is a Japanese film actor who is most known in the west for his roles in the Godzilla film series.-Overview:Takarada was born in Japan-occupied Korea, and lived for a time in Harbin, China. His father worked as an engineer on the South Manchuria Railway...
) who can't sell his work either. Despite she doing all she can for him and his disease tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, he abuses her verbally and eventually physically. She walks out, comes back, walks out again. A kind man, Nobuo Sadaoka (Daisuke Katō
Daisuke Katô
was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai , Rashomon, Yojimbo , and Ikiru, and Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy and Chushingura.-Filmography:* Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji...
) helps her occasionally, but she rejects his proposal. After these struggles, the film ends up with her literary success.
Cast
- Hideko TakamineHideko Takaminewas a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
as Fumiko Hayashi - Akira TakaradaAkira Takaradais a Japanese film actor who is most known in the west for his roles in the Godzilla film series.-Overview:Takarada was born in Japan-occupied Korea, and lived for a time in Harbin, China. His father worked as an engineer on the South Manchuria Railway...
as Fukuya - Daisuke KatōDaisuke Katôwas a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai , Rashomon, Yojimbo , and Ikiru, and Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy and Chushingura.-Filmography:* Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji...
as Hisako Morizono - Yumi ShirakawaYumi Shirakawais a former Japanese actress.-Filmography:Filmography of Yumi Shirakawa include:* The Badger Palace aka The Princess of Badger Palace *Kiganjo no Boken*Gorath*Wall-Eyed Nippon...
as Nobuo Sadaoka - Kinuyo TanakaKinuyo Tanakawas a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929...
as Kishi, Fumiko's mother
External links
- Uhlich Keith. " A Wanderer's Notebook review." Slant Magazine, 1 March 2006.
- A Wanderer's Notebook at Japan Movie Database
- A Wanderer's Notebook on Mubi (website)