Name: Passion
Director: Hiroshi Shimizu
Released: 1932-02-04
Duration: 73 min
Rating: 10
Cast: Hideo Fujino, Kikuko Hanaoka, Shinichi Himori, Sachiko Murase, Hideko Takamine

A 73-minute time capsule of 1930s Japan with a 7-year-old Hideko Takamine stealing scenes before she knew she was a legend.

100

Watch(FR)

A 73-minute time capsule of 1930s Japan with a 7-year-old Hideko Takamine stealing scenes before she knew she was a legend.

100

Watch(FR)

Pre-war melancholySilent-era poetryFamily fracture

Overview

Film by Hiroshi Shimizu, featuring an early role for frequent Ozu and Naruse collaborator Hideko Takamine.

JP Japanese

Content warning

Generational sacrificeSilent paternal loveWomen's economic precarityArt vs. survival

Standout Aspects

Acting

Takamine's child performance foreshadows decades of Japanese cinema brilliance.

Direction

Shimizu's unobtrusive camera lets silences scream louder than dialogue.

Cinematography

1932 location shooting captures Yokohama's transient, liminal spaces.

Best for:Solo·Rewatch

Director

Hiroshi Shimizu

ReleasedFeb 4, 1932

Runtime1h 13m

StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow

Intensitymedium

Tonedark

Feelheavy

Top Cast

Hideo Fujino

Father

Kikuko Hanaoka

Tokiko

Shinichi Himori

Murakawa, writer

Sachiko Murase

Mitsuko, reporter

Hideko Takamine

Mitsuko's child

Kinuko Wakamizu

Madame

Hikaru Yamanouchi

Michiro, Tokiko's brother

Mitsuko Yoshikawa

Mother

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

This was Hideko Takamine's screen debut at age 7; she would make over 250 films and become Naruse's muse. Shimizu discovered her before Ozu or Naruse could claim her.

Cultural

Shimizu was known for shooting on location with non-professional actors, a radical departure from studio-bound contemporaries. This 'passion' for realism influenced the later Japanese New Wave.