Humanity And Paper Balloons on DVD (1937)

James Clark from Oxford , 19/12/2005

This film must go down as one of the 'lost gems' of 30s cinema. 'Humanity & Paper Balloons' is tightly paced drama focusing on the lives and misfortunes of a samurai couple in a poor urban neighbourhood. Throughout the movie I got the constant sense of watching a director at the peak of his powers, with beatiful composition and strong performances contributing to an elegant, if sombre, tone. A very solid 5 stars.

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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jonathangrahamprice from London , 30/09/2005

An enchanting glimpse of pre-war Japan, Humanity and Paper Balloons' humorous and intimate portrayal of slum dwellers charts the sombre decline of the samurai class without falling foul of the usual glamorizing and mythologizing of bushido. Sadao Yamanaka's film instead plays more like Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette, revealing characters struggling to live amid a faltering social order.

Kudos to Eureka for yet another fine addition to their 'Masters of Cinema' series. It's reassuring to know there're increasingly accessable means of finding some of the most wonderful films by the most inventive and interesting directors in international cinema.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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ShimmerMan from East Sussex , 19/01/2006

Reminiscent of Magnolia and Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburgh, Ohio", this film details a few fateful days in the life of the inhabitants in a small group of slum apartments in medieval Tokyo. Considering it was made in 1938, when Japan was already embroiled in a war with China and fast approaching conflicts with the west, the tone of the film is mostly light and humourous. The fact it is set in the past also detaches it from the reality of it's time and the film really should be viewed as somewhat of an escapist fantasy. It resists the temptation to base the plot solely around any one character, a move that helps to maintain interest as the ultimate thrust of the plot is never fully revealed until two-thirds of the way through the film. The different character strands are eventually brought together in such a way as doesn't feel too contrived, unlike some modern ensemble films, such as Crash. All in all, this is a great little film which I had never heard of before, but am extremely glad I have seen now.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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Stephen Simpson from Croydon, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 05/02/2006

Humanity and Paper Balloons, released in Eureka’s excellent Masters of Cinema series, is a beautiful Japanese film from 1937. It was the last film directed by the highly regarded Sadao Yamanaka, who died shortly after making this. A shocking number of Japanese films from the 20s and 30s have been lost, normally through neglect of the original prints or destruction during WW2 – so we should be grateful that this survived. It is a bleak and damning view of Japanese feudal society, with interesting and well-rounded characters. Just don’t expect much action – this is a world where samurai sell their swords to buy rice.

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jonathangrahamprice from London , 30/09/2005

An enchanting glimpse of pre-war Japan, Humanity and Paper Balloons' humorous and intimate portrayal of slum dwellers charts the sombre decline of the samurai class without falling foul of the usual glamorizing and mythologizing of bushido. Sadao Yamanaka's film instead plays more like Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette, revealing characters struggling to live amid a faltering social order.

Kudos to Eureka for yet another fine addition to their 'Masters of Cinema' series. It's reassuring to know there're increasingly accessable means of finding some of the most wonderful films by the most inventive and interesting directors in international cinema.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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Chester Dent from London, England [Highly rated reviewer] , 16/01/2007

Humanity and Paper Balloons delivers a scathing comment on the political and social conditions of 18th century feudal Japan. The story is set in the intimate surroundings of a city slum and is entirely driven by the beautifully subtle and understated performances of the cast whose characters inject a generous amount of dignity and humour into their sad, desperate and deeply pessimistic existence. A wonderful and deceptively simple film.

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