The Heart (, Kokoro), also titled Love Betrayed, is a 1973 Japanese drama film written and directed by Kaneto Shindō. It is based on the 1914 novel Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki.[1][2][3]

The Heart
Directed byKaneto Shindō
Written by
Produced by
  • Kaneto Shindō
  • Kinshirō Kuzui
Starring
CinematographyKiyomi Kuroda
Edited byMitsuo Kondo
Music byHikaru Hayashi
Production
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Distributed byArt Theatre Guild
Release date
  • 27 October 1973 (1973-10-27) (Japan)[1][2]
Running time
90 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Cast

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  • Noboru Matsuhashi as K
  • Kazunaga Tsuji as S
  • Nobuko Otowa as Mrs. M.
  • Anri as I-ko
  • Taiji Tonoyama as Father of S
  • Yasuo Arakawa as Boy
  • Sotomi Kotake as Girl

Literary source

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Sōseki's novel has been adapted for film and television numerous times, the first time for cinema by Kon Ichikawa in 1955 as The Heart. For his version, writer/director Shindō moved the story's Meiji era setting to the 1970s[4] and put his focus only on the novel's third and final part, "Sensei to isho" ("Sensei's testament").[5]

Reception

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While Louis Frédéric ranked The Heart among Shindō's important films,[6] Max Tessier criticised Shindō's "leaden directing" and "heavy-handed psychology".[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "心 (Kokoro)" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "心 (Kokoro)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  3. ^ Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
  4. ^ Natsume, Sōseki (2014). Kokoro: de wegen van het hart. Lebowski Publishers. ISBN 9789048836109.
  5. ^ Cazdyn, Eric (2001). "The Ends of Adaptation: Kon Ichikawa and the Politics of Cinematization". Kon Ichikawa. Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto International Film Festival Group. p. 224. ISBN 9780968296936.
  6. ^ Frédéric, Louis (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 864. ISBN 9780674007703.
  7. ^ Tessier, Max (2001). "Kon Ichikawa: Black Humour as Therapy". Kon Ichikawa. Cinematheque Ontario, Toronto International Film Festival Group. p. 81. ISBN 9780968296936.
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