Alongside contemporaries Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, director Keisuke Kinoshita is regarded as one of the greats in Japanese cinema. Combining Tabuchi theatre and masterful cinematic techniques, Ballad of Narayama is a beautiful and meditative tale of love and humanity that explores traditional Japanese cultural values.

Based on the novel by Shinchiro Fukazawa, the film recounts the ancient custom of younger inhabitants in a remote Japanese mountain village who are obligued to shepherd those over the age of seventy to the top of Mount Narayama to await their death. One such elder must first sort out the lives of her three children before she fulfils her duty to the village.