The Ballad of Narayama (1958)
The concept of ubasute is at the centre of The Battle of Narayama, the 1958 film by Japanese director Keisuke Kinoshita. Ubasute is the alleged practice of abandoning an infirmed or elderly relative on a mountain or some other remote locale. The practice apparently took place in times of famine or drought, with the idea being that the elderly person’s death would lessen the burden on younger villagers.
Check out the rest of this review at The Ballad of Narayama Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Kinoshita’s Kabuki Theatre Envisions Ubasute at Cinema Sentries.
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No. My brain cells just kicked in and I recall that it was about the Eskimos, not the Japanese. Wish I could remember the name.
Is this the film where the elderly survive and flourish and later must assist the ones who abandoned them?
No, you’re thinking of The Expendables.
Just found what I was thinking of: “Two Old Women” by Velma Wallis. Sorry, it was a book, not a film.
Glad you found what you were looking for. My reply was just a bit of deadpan humour on my part. Book sounds interesting, though, and thanks for stopping by.
After I looked up The Expendables on IMDB, I got the humor. You definitely got me to look
Mission accomplished.