Nijushi no hitomi (1954)

Director:

Keisuke Kinoshita

Writers:

Keisuke Kinoshita (writer)
Sakae Tsuboi (novel)

Release Date:

15 September 1954 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world and their place in it...

Plot Keywords:

Teacher Student Relationship | Poverty | Anti War | Schoolteacher | School

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 9 wins

Cast

Hideki Goko	...	Isokichi Okada in lower class
Hideko Takamine	...	Hisako Oishi
Yukio Watanabe	...	Takeichi Takeshita in lower class
Makoto Miyagawa	...	Kichiji Tokuda in lower class
Takero Terashita	...	Tadashi Morioka in lower class
Kunio Sato	...	Nita Aizawa in lower class
Hiroko Ishii	...	Masuno Kagawa in lower class
Yasuko Koike	...	Misako Nishiguchi in lower class
Setsuko Kusano	...	Matsue Kawamoto in lower class
Kaoko Kase	...	Sanae Yamaishi in lower class
Yumiko Tanabe	...	Kotsuru Kabe in lower class
Ikuko Kambara	...	Fujiko Kinoshita in lower class
Hiroko Uehara	...	Kotoe Katagiri in lower class
Hitobumi Goko	...	Isokichi Okada in upper class
Shirô Watanabe	...	Takeichi Takeshita in upper class

Also Known As:

Twenty-Four Eyes

Runtime:

154 min | USA:116 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:18 | UK:U | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Shodoshima, Kagawa, Japan

Company:

Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hakuchu no torima (1966)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

An interesting description of Japan rural society

It was a pleasure for me to see this lovely movie, a film I've really wished to see in the last four years but I couldn't do it until today. I heard about this movie when I lived in Japan and visited Shodoshima island, where "Eiga Mura" (Cinema Village), the place this film was made, can still be visited and the atmosphere of the past can be enjoyed. To be honest, I must say that "Nijushi no hitomi" wasn't for me the "exceptional film" I expected to see, but anyway it has been a pleasant experience. The life of the rural teacher, from the start of her career (in the mid 20's) to the time she retakes her teaching position after having become a widow (in the 40's, after the end of WWII), is an interesting guide to discover the traditional life and mentalities in the small islands of Seto (Japan Inland Sea). A good point for this film: it is usually said that this is an "anti-war" film. Well, it is true that the teacher shows a clear position against the wars Japan was involved (the war against China and the later Pacific War against the USA), but this film mustn't be considered as a pacifist pamphlet: the honest position of the teacher against the war is just one more detail in this complete description of how life should be in rural Japan during those difficult prewar, war and postwar years. A film that should be shown in every school around the world.