Floating Clouds

Mikio Naruse - 1955
Some fascinating decisions in the edit here. The two stories, when crosscut, always seem to have a connection, This can be almost thematic, they are both thinking about money, or wandering, or it can some form of graphic match, often both walking. The theme of walking is big here; especially the walk together. This is repeated as a motif throughout the film, apart from the first sequence taking in a single smooth track. This repetition, tracing over old steps, is important thematically and also reflected in the repetions of the music.
The lighting is not quite so distinctive as in 'Late Chrysanthemums', but I would still argue that Naruse generally does not exactly flood his sets.
And those cuts, the flashback at the start. Four or five years before 'Hiroshima Mon Amour' we have a non-cued flashback. I kept anticipating this to happen again, which made me get a little confused, which may be my fault rather than the films.
The telling of the story is certainly complex, perhaps not totally a positive. I wouldn't say Naruse narrates in an economical way his themes; it can be a little baggy. This may partly be down to how, formally with all the SRS, this isn't particularly exciting much of the time. Scenes talking in a room can get a bit samey.
Nonethless, there are incredibly powerful parts here. The theme, again making us cross with Resnais, of at once the inadequacy but the tugging persistence of memory is present. The man isn't up to much; but the relationship goes on, in this strange back and forth. Leading to a remarkably affecting conclusion.