Carmen Comes Home

Just after the Second World War, the arrival of a city girl (TAKAMINE Hideko) and her friend (KOBAYASHI Toshiko) attracts curiosity from the residents of a rural mountain village. The girl’s name is Okin, and although she once called this very village home, she now claims to have become an artistic dancer in Tokyo under the stage name of Carmen.

The principal of the village school (RYU Chishu), a self-professed champion of the arts, is overjoyed to learn that his tiny village has produced such an esteemed artist, but when he witnesses Carmen and her friend’s dress sense and behaviour, he and the other villagers are confused and even upset. One day, determined to decorate her hometown with the brocade she prides herself on, Carmen agrees to showcase her dancing skills for the villagers…

An iconic light-hearted comedy, Carmen Comes Home remains one of master filmmaker KINOSHITA Keisuke’s (The Snow Flurry, JFTFP24) most beloved films, exploring the shifts and disparities in post-war Japanese moral standards. It also bears great historic significance as the first ever Japanese feature film produced in full colour.

©1951/2012 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

東京でストリッパーをしているリリィ・カルメンが同僚を連れて故郷の村に戻ってくる。派手な服装の2人に戸惑いを隠せない村人たち。しかしリリィたちはストリップを最新の芸術と考えているため、皆の前で凱旋公演と称したダンスを披露し、村は大騒ぎに……。日本初の国産フル・カラー映
画としても意義を持つ、戦後日本の道徳観の変化を描いた軽快なコメディー。

(Special thanks to Eikoku News Digest)