Floating Clouds

Considered one of Naruse's most acclaimed works, Floating Clouds follows the story of a married forester, Kengo (Masayuki Mori), and a young typist, Yukiko (Hideko Takamine), who start an idyllic love affair during World War II in occupied Vietnam. Fondly remembering her lover’s vow to leave his wife, she returns to Japan after the war only to find him comfortably re-established with his family and uninterested in fulfilling his idle wartime promises. But unable to remain apart, the two lovers end up caught in a relentless cycle — the bittersweet relationship between a lonely woman trying to find purpose in a long-lost passion and a man who can appreciate the value of her devotion only when it is irretrievably lost.

Based on the novel by celebrated writer Fumiko Hayashi and winner of numerous awards, Floating Clouds explores how the most desolate aspects of human relationships can be a mirror to Japan’s post-war agony.

Awards & Accolades

1956 Kinema Junpo Awards - Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Masayuki Mori), Best Actress (Hideko Takamine)
1956 Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Film
1956 Mainichi Film Concours - Best Actress (Hideko Takamine), Best Director), Best Film, Best Sound Recording (Hisashi Shimonaga)
Voted the second best Japanese film of all time in a poll of 140 Japanese critics and filmmakers conducted by the magazine Kinema Junpo in 1999.