Die Makioka-Schwestern

In the organizer's words:

細雪 Sasameyuki

Director: ICHIKAWA Kon
1983, 140 minutes, original language, 16 mm

The plot spans the period from 1936 to 1941 and is based on the novel of the same name by Tanizaki Jun'ichirô. The story of the decline of a family with a traditional lifestyle and the increasing influence of the West is told in opulent images.

On the eve of the Second World War, the four sisters of the wealthy Makioka family meet in Kyoto for the cherry blossom season, as they do every year. Tsuruko, the eldest daughter, is married to Tatsuo, who works at a bank. Sachiko, the second eldest, lives in Ôsaka with her husband and two youngest sisters, Yukiko and Taeko. According to tradition, Taeko, the youngest and most rebellious, is only allowed to marry after the slightly older and very shy Yukiko has found a husband. The cohesion of the family begins to crumble.

Movie series
A journey into the past - Japanese film stories between tradition and modernity

After concentrating on new productions in our film program in recent months, in April we are taking a journey into the past and showing films that were made between 1983 and 2005 and whose plots are set in the first half of the 20th century. They are based on the novels of the famous writers Mishima Yukio, Natsume Sôseki, Sumii Sue and Tanizaki Jun'ichirô and will be shown in analog film formats.

The first decades of the 20th century in Japan were characterized by profound changes triggered by the collapse of the feudal system during the Meiji period (1868-1912). Under the Meiji Emperor, economic and social modernization began, which had far-reaching consequences, and increased contact with Western countries led to a clash of different values and traditions.

Both the story about the decline of a wealthy family(Sasameyuki) and about an idler deal with the conflict between traditional ideas and new trends(Sorekara). A drama about two brothers deals with the discrimination of a minority (Hashi no nai kawa) and in a love story the protagonists suffer from social conventions(Haru no yuki).

Price information:

Admission free