The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

West Coast premiere of the high definition restoration!

Part of the Hanabi Film Festival 2026. Limited festival passes available while supplies last.

Doors open at 5:30 PM; film at 6:00 PM.

In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman, Orin, comes close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.

Winner of the 1983 Palme D’Or, this harrowing landmark film by Japanese New Wave director Shōhei Imamura (The Eel) cemented his international reputation as one of the greatest filmmakers in the world. Based on an ancient folktale, Imamura’s magnum opus finds members of an extended farming family eking out their existence against the backdrop of changing seasons.

Screened in Japanese with English subtitles.