Yoji YAMADA 山田洋次

Nagasaki: Memories Of My Son

母と暮せば

Nippon Cinema   ª 

During the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Nobuko’s son Koji dies. Previously, Nobuko had already lost another son and her husband. Three years later, she lives alone as a midwife and talks to the ghost of her dead son about her painful past. The emotionally powerful melodrama by master director Yoji YAMADA might be the saddest, yet also most hopeful film of this year’s festival.

母と暮せば
Haha to kuraseba

Japan 2015

130 minutes

Director
Yoji YAMADA

Script
Yoji YAMADA, Emiko HIRAMATSU

Cinematography
Masashi CHIKAMORI

About Yoji YAMADA
山田洋次

Yoji YAMADA, born in Osaka Prefecture in 1931, worked as an assistant director at the Shochiku production company after graduating from his law studies at Tokyo University. He made his directorial debut in 1961 with A STRANGER UPSTAIRS. In Japan, he is best known for the TORA-SAN series (1969–2019). With over 90 films and numerous awards to his credit, he is considered a grand master of Japanese cinema. In 2010, he received the Berlinale Camera for his life’s work. His films THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI (2002 / NC ’09) and NAGASAKI: MEMORIES OF MY SON (2015 / NC ’16) were both screened at Nippon Connection.