Plots(1)
Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s epic novel from 1943 - in Japanese the title means Softly Falling Snow - is one of Japan’s defining works about the gradual shift from East to West: The two oldest eponymous sisters uphold the old order, the youngest seems intent on claiming an independent, Western identity, and the fourth is delicately (and almost permanently) caught in the middle. In Kon Ichikawa’s rapturous rendition, however, an often slow-moving novel takes on fresh beauty and becomes a shimmering immersion in textures and cherry-blossom rites alight with a mischievous wit Jane Austen would have savored. Pauline Kael famously greeted its “visual music” and “succession of evanescent revelations” and in its reaction-shots alone, the film catches all the stresses and rift underneath an elegant, lacquered exterior. Indeed, in its delectable pacing and luscious colors, I’m tempted to place this Japanese Pride and Prejudice on that very short list of films even more spirited and stylish than the novel it so faithfully brings to the screen. (Telluride Film Festival)
(more)Cast
![岸惠子](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/741/158741820_63f84f.jpg)
岸惠子
Japan
Best movies:
Early Spring (1956)
The Twilight Samurai (2002)
Hunter in the dark (1979)
![Kuniko Miyake](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272542_36a95c.jpg)
Kuniko Miyake
Japan
Best movies:
Early Summer (1951)
Early Spring (1956)
Late Autumn (1960)
![Jun Hashizume](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/403/166403749_6657bb.jpg)
Jun Hashizume
Japan
Best movies:
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
Character (2021)
Godzilla vs Space-Godzilla (1994)
Jūzō Itami
Japan
Best movies:
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
Lord Jim (1965)
55 Days at Peking (1963)
細川俊之
Japan
Best movies:
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald (1997)
Eros + Massacre (1969)
![Ittoku Kishibe](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/273/273980_c9a091.jpg)
Ittoku Kishibe
Japan
Best movies:
Vengeance for Sale (2001)
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (2003)
Tokyo Bordello (1987)
白石加代子
Japan
Best movies:
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
Fine, Totally Fine (2008)
Samurai Reincarnation (1981)
![Yuko Kotegawa](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/469/159469488_20688f.jpg)
Yuko Kotegawa
Japan
Best movies:
Switching - Goodbye Me (2007)
A Heartful of Love (2005)
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
![Sayuri Yoshinaga](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/167/998/167998870_7ezlmb.jpg)
Sayuri Yoshinaga
Japan
Best movies:
Our Mother (2008)
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
The Ambitious (1970)
辻萬長
Japan
Best movies:
Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
G.I. Samurai (1979)
![石坂浩二](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/764/168764516_hcmjyp.jpg)
石坂浩二
Japan
Best movies:
Suspect X (2008)
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
Library Wars - The Last Mission (2015)
![Jun Hamamura](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/430/161430946_aaacb0.jpg)
Jun Hamamura
Japan
Best movies:
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Michiyo Yokoyama
Japan
Best movies:
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
The Makioka Sisters (1983)
The Funeral (1984)
Akemi Negishi
Japan
Best movies:
Red Beard (1965)
I Live in Fear (1955)
Dodes'ka-den (1970)
Yoshiko Sakuma
Japan
Best movies:
Samurai Banners (1969)
Unknown Father (1964)
The Makioka Sisters (1983)