Keisuke KINOSHITA 木下恵介

Spring Dreams

春の夢

Nippon Retro   ² 

The wealthy OKUDAIRA family’s household goes topsy-turvy when a collapsed sweet potato vendor needs to be nursed in their living room. Set almost entirely in the family manor, this screwball comedy is a biting yet hopeful portrait of class society, painted in lush colors.

春の夢
Haru no yume

Japan 1960

103 minutes

Director
Keisuke KINOSHITA

Script
Keisuke KINOSHITA

Cinematography
Hiroshi KUSUDA

Music
Chuji KINOSHITA

About Keisuke KINOSHITA
木下恵介

Keisuke KINOSHITA (1912–1998) is considered one of the most important Japanese directors. Starting in 1943, he made popular dramas, comedies, romances, ghost stories and noir films for Studio Shochiku, finding strong images even within conventions. After ARMY (1944), he was not allowed to work until the end of World War II. From 1945 on, the tension between the past and the hope for a new beginning was his central theme. The suffering, responsibility, and moral challenge of the individual are at the heart of many of his dramas. KINOSHITA’s rejection of feudal, militaristic Japan is clearly visible. With CARMEN COMES HOME (1951), he brought the first Japanese color film to the cinema, a summer comedy with serious overtones. KINOSHITA, who also repeatedly addressed the contrast between country and city, is considered the central humanist of post-war Japanese cinema. His sensitively-portrayed characters and their fates continue to touch audiences today.