Haru no yume (1960)

Haru no yume: Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. With Mariko Okada, Yoshiko Kuga, Eitarô Ozawa, Michiko Araki. A homeless man falls ill near a wealthy family’s home, who take him in and find themselves dealing with his visiting friends.

“In many ways, u0026quot;Haru No Yumeu0026quot; is like several other very famous films…in particular the French movie u0026quot;Boudu Saved From Drowningu0026quot; (later remade as u0026quot;Down and Out in Beverly Hillsu0026quot;) and u0026quot;My Man Godfreyu0026quot;. See the pictures and youu0026#39;ll see what I mean. All the films are about a stranger entering a rich familyu0026#39;s home and you begin to see that the household, though wealthy, is incredibly screwed up and in need of change. Both Bodu and Godfrey provide this change…and in the case of this Japanese film, the man staying with them is far more passive….but the same sorts of family dysfunction abounds.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the story begins, the old man who sells sweet potatoes is told to go to a rich familyu0026#39;s home, as some of the servants want his product. However, soon after arriving, the old man collapses and a doctor is called…a doctor who recommends they keep the man there for a few days until heu0026#39;s recovered. In addition to the screwy rich family, the family and friends of the old men are a mess as well…and want to turn this tragedy to their benefit.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enWhile the story isnu0026#39;t as obviously funny or goofy as the other two movies I mentioned, the Japanese family is a mess and have plenty of crazy soap opera-like stuff going on…though NOT because of the newcomer, as unlike Boudu and Godfrey, this old man is prone almost the entire story and his interactions with the family are much more limited. Instead, goofy family stuff just happens to coincide with his illness. All in all, enjoyable but nothing unique story-wise.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBy the way, you might not know it today, but in the 1950s and early 60s, there was a push towards communism and socialism in Japan…hence all the red flags as the workers went out on strike.”