A HUMBLE LIFE (Smirennaya zhizn)

(director/writer: Alexander Sokurov; cinematographer: Alexi Fiodorov; editor: Leda Semionova; music: Algirdas Paulavicius; cast: Umeno Matuyoshi, Alexander Sokurov (Narrator); Runtime: 76; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Alexander Sokurov; Medici Arts; 1997-Russia/Japan-in Russian and Japanese with English subtitles)

“The title tells it all.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

The title tells it all. Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (“Whispering Pages”/”Stone”/”The Second Circle”) treks to the 130-year-old Japanese house in the mountains of the remote Village Aska, Nara Prefecture, Japan, to let the elderly widow Umeno Matuyoshi tell her slow-moving austere story and let us see how she lives a simple Buddhist monk-like life alone.

The frail woman sews silk funeral kimonos for a living, goes about routinely doing her chores in the chilly late autumn, cooks a simple meal like someone would in the 19th century, offers Buddhist prays, gives alms to four chanting monks with bells who appear at her door, and in conclusion recites a few heartfelt haiku poems that reveal an inner sadness that her husband is gone, that she’s estranged from her married daughter and that a snowstorm is on the horizon because the crickets stopped singing. To complement those shots, there are utterly fascinating poetic shots of the sky, the forest, the stream and a beautiful rock garden. It’s a lyrical and utterly amazing timeless documentary about living a humble life in harmony with nature.

The liner notes mention that Umeno saw the completed film and died soon after.

REVIEWED ON 10/5/2009 GRADE: A  https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/

Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ