Because this movie has Setsuko Hara in it (an actress who was just in another Japanese movie I saw recently) I got the impression this was going to be worthwhile. For one reason or another, I didn't enjoy it as much as the other movie, maybe because Kurosawa wasn't behind this one. There's no inclusion of a World War 2 focused plot in it either, and the story we do get is in my view overemotional. Sound of the Mountain is about a woman named Kikuko (Hara) trying to navigate the difficulties involved in her marriage which is hanging by a thread due to her husband's abuse. Shuichi (Ken Uehara), Kikuko's husband, has been cheating on her with a secretary. Kikuko's father in law, Shingo (So Yamamura) is idolized by her, and he tries to become a kind of father figure to her. However, attempting to be nice in one section of his life has consequences in another. Shingo's daughter Fusako (Chieko Nakakita) thinks her father had a hand in her marriage also falling apart because he arranged it. She also takes notice of the favoritism he displays towards Kikuko over his own daughter. At a hospital some time later, Shingo is appalled to learn Kikuko has aborted her and Shuichi's future child. Realizing she's never going to be happy unless she gets away from Shuichi, Shingo has someone he knows track down Kinu; the woman Shuichi has been cheating on his wife with. Kinu tells Shingo that his son is a vile person. Kikuko decides to end her marriage to Shuichi and meets with Shingo in a park, tearfully telling him she wants to be in control of her life from now on. I typically don't like sappy movies like this, and I won't change my way of thinking just for this one film. Setsuko is not really anything like how she is in No Regrets for Our Youth. In that film, she's independent and shows her determination to overcome sizable obstacles in her life, going as far as to help the parents of her now dead boyfriend so she can gain their acceptance. Here, she cries way too much and shows little in the way of bravery. Probably the most courageous thing she does in this movie is terminate her pregnancy. For me, the main event was seeing the same guy who plays Admiral Yamamoto in Tora Tora Tora play Kikuko's father in law. Shingo is the real hero of the story since he risks his good standing with his daughter in order to help Kikuko through her problems. His confrontation with Shuichi over Kikuko's decision is probably the highlight, and he fights for Kikuko's right to have a pleasant future.
Review of Sound of the Mountain
