"Island"
1960
Directed by Kaneto Shindo

Cinematic haiku. A man, his wife and two small boys are the only inhabitants of an island and must, each day, go to the mainland to get their supply of water. The entire story is told without dialog, but rather through visuals, sounds and music. The result is a moving, intensely human allegory for existence with outstanding performances from Nobuko Otowa and Taiji Tonoyama. No dialog.
96 minutes.
 

Guest Comments

From:  "Charles F. Noble"

"Possibly one of the most moving films of my entire life of viewing movies. The drama and the pathos of this film are actually beyond the scope of normal film making. I saw this movie on a snowy night in the winter of 1961 in Lancaser PA USA. I have never forgotten the incredible emotion and beauty of this film. It is a masterpeice of story telling, and to think it has no dialog. It must be among the top films ever to come from Japan. I should like very much to see it re-released."