Haru, an aged scriptwriter living alone in a house in the mountains, reminiscences his childhood in Hiroshima Prefecture.
The youngest child of four, Haru grows up as the son of a wealthy landowner. His passive father serves as a guarantor of someone else's debts, and slowly loses the family's fortune. Haru's older brother confronts the father for his inactivity, even threatening him with a knife during a violent dispute. Unable to change the father's mind, the brother leaves the house and joins the police force.
The old Haru is paid a visit by a woman who delivers food to his remote residence. She discovers his draft for a novel, asking if he stopped writing screenplays. Haru replies that he is too old and, being the last surviving member of the family, wants to keep his mother's memory alive.
The oldest sister of the young Haru accepts the marriage proposal of an émigré whom she does not love, on the condition that he pays 2,000 yen to help pay the family's debts. Still, neither her dowry nor the younger sister's leaving for the city can prevent the bankruptcy. After selling the estate, Haru and his parents move into the warehouse, while the main house is demolished to sell the usable parts.
Eventually, the mother dies. Back in the present, the old Haru hears his mother's voice, calling him for supper, a reminder of the opening scene.
The house in the mountains where the old man lives was director Shindō's actual mountain retreat, and is the same building as in A Last Note.[4]
Reception
Reviewer Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader regarded Tree Without Leaves as a "clinically observant work about a terminally detached person", whose methods eventually "cumulate to "powerful effect".[5]
See also
Already in his 1984 film The Horizon (地平線), Shindō had chronicled the fate of his older sister, who married a Japanese-American émigré whom she followed to the U.S.[6]
References
^ ab"落葉樹 (Tree Without Leaves)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^ ab"落葉樹 (Tree Without Leaves)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^Shindo, Kaneto (2008). Ikite iru kagiri - Watashi no Rirekisho (in Japanese). ISBN978-4-532-16661-8.
tree, without, leaves, 落葉樹, rakuyōju, deciduous, tree, 1986, japanese, autobiographical, film, written, directed, kaneto, shindō, japanese, film, posterdirected, bykaneto, shindōwritten, bykaneto, shindōproduced, bymasaya, endosetsuo, notomichiyoshi, takashima. Tree Without Leaves 落葉樹 Rakuyōju lit Deciduous Tree is a 1986 Japanese autobiographical film 3 written and directed by Kaneto Shindō Tree Without LeavesJapanese film posterDirected byKaneto ShindōWritten byKaneto ShindōProduced byMasaya EndoSetsuo NotoMichiyoshi TakashimaStarringKeiju KobayashiNobuko OtowaIchirō ZaitsuCinematographyYoshiyuki MiyakeEdited byMitsuo KondōMusic byHikaru HayashiProductioncompanyKindai Eiga KyokaiRelease dateNovember 15 1986 1986 11 15 Japan 1 2 Running time105 minutes 1 2 CountryJapanLanguageJapanese Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditHaru an aged scriptwriter living alone in a house in the mountains reminiscences his childhood in Hiroshima Prefecture The youngest child of four Haru grows up as the son of a wealthy landowner His passive father serves as a guarantor of someone else s debts and slowly loses the family s fortune Haru s older brother confronts the father for his inactivity even threatening him with a knife during a violent dispute Unable to change the father s mind the brother leaves the house and joins the police force The old Haru is paid a visit by a woman who delivers food to his remote residence She discovers his draft for a novel asking if he stopped writing screenplays Haru replies that he is too old and being the last surviving member of the family wants to keep his mother s memory alive The oldest sister of the young Haru accepts the marriage proposal of an emigre whom she does not love on the condition that he pays 2 000 yen to help pay the family s debts Still neither her dowry nor the younger sister s leaving for the city can prevent the bankruptcy After selling the estate Haru and his parents move into the warehouse while the main house is demolished to sell the usable parts Eventually the mother dies Back in the present the old Haru hears his mother s voice calling him for supper a reminder of the opening scene Cast EditKeiju Kobayashi Old Haru Nobuko Otowa Mother Ichiro Zaitsu Father Midori Sono Older sister Shiori Wakaba as Shiori Suwano Younger sister Shinsuke Kawamichi Older brother Kazuki Yamanaka Young Haru Taiji Tonoyama Sakuzo Meiko Kaji Woman who comes to the mountain Rokkō Toura BailiffProduction EditThe house in the mountains where the old man lives was director Shindō s actual mountain retreat and is the same building as in A Last Note 4 Reception EditReviewer Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader regarded Tree Without Leaves as a clinically observant work about a terminally detached person whose methods eventually cumulate to powerful effect 5 See also EditAlready in his 1984 film The Horizon 地平線 Shindō had chronicled the fate of his older sister who married a Japanese American emigre whom she followed to the U S 6 References Edit a b 落葉樹 Tree Without Leaves Japanese Movie Database in Japanese Retrieved 23 July 2021 a b 落葉樹 Tree Without Leaves Kinenote in Japanese Retrieved 23 July 2021 Shindo Kaneto 2008 Ikite iru kagiri Watashi no Rirekisho in Japanese ISBN 978 4 532 16661 8 Shindo Kaneto 2012 Nagase Hiroko ed 100 sai no ryugi The Centenarian s Way in Japanese PHP ISBN 978 4 569 80434 7 Sachs Ben Tree Without Leaves Chicago Reader Retrieved 24 July 2021 Shindo Kaneto 2008 Ikite iru kagiri Watashi no Rirekisho While I live my resume Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha ISBN 978 4 532 16661 8 External links EditTree Without Leaves at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tree Without Leaves amp oldid 1111638621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
