This was pretty good, overall. Sure, it's quite old and admittedly somewhat slow, but it is also certainly a worthwhile and rewarding film that feels like it has an important and influential place in the history of Japanese film.
I liked how many characters it balanced in its short runtime, and you get a pretty good feel for most of them.
The plot is solid, and it presents a sympathetic portrayal of the working class in Japan 200-300 years ago.
It apparently was controversial for depicting the samurai as less than noble (something later directors would investigate during Japan's golden age of cinema, most notably Kobayashi in 1962's Harakiri), and contributed to director Yamanaka receiving a punishment in the form of being sent to fight in China, where he tragically died at only 28 years of age.
He apparently made over 20 films during his short but incredibly productive career, though - again, tragically - only three survive today, with Humanity and Paper Balloons being one of them.
I liked how many characters it balanced in its short runtime, and you get a pretty good feel for most of them.
The plot is solid, and it presents a sympathetic portrayal of the working class in Japan 200-300 years ago.
It apparently was controversial for depicting the samurai as less than noble (something later directors would investigate during Japan's golden age of cinema, most notably Kobayashi in 1962's Harakiri), and contributed to director Yamanaka receiving a punishment in the form of being sent to fight in China, where he tragically died at only 28 years of age.
He apparently made over 20 films during his short but incredibly productive career, though - again, tragically - only three survive today, with Humanity and Paper Balloons being one of them.