A playwright moves to the country to get away from distractions as he writes his new play. However, the countryside proves to be full of distractions, including his wife, children, and neighbors. This was the first Japanese film to utilize sound. Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
- Norsk
- Native Title: マダムと女房
- Also Known As: Madamu to Nyobo , Madamu to Nyoubou
- Director: Gosho Heinosuke
- Screenwriter: Kitamura Komatsu
- Genres: Music, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Credits
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![Watanabe Atsushi in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()]( "Watanabe Atsushi in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()")
Watanabe AtsushiShibano ShinsakuMain Role -
![Tanaka Kinuyo in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()]( "Tanaka Kinuyo in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()")
Tanaka Kinuyo[Shibano's wife]Support Role -
![Date Satoko in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()]( "Date Satoko in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()")
Date Satoko[Madam next door]Support Role -
![Yokoo Dekao in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()]( "Yokoo Dekao in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()")
Yokoo Dekao[Painter]Support Role -
![Ichimura Mitsuko in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()]( "Ichimura Mitsuko in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()")
Ichimura MitsukoTeruko [Daughter]Support Role -
![Inoue Yukiko in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()]( "Inoue Yukiko in The Neighbor's Wife and Mine Japanese Movie ()")
Inoue Yukiko[Girl Next Door]Support Role
Photos
Reviews
"The Pig and the Pearl"
The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine was one of Gosho Heinosuke’s earliest films. The title of the play for which the main character was writing was called “The Pig and the Pearl.” Pretty much summed up the married couple in this story.Shinsaku is walking on a country road and comes across a man painting a landscape. Because the area is quiet, he thinks it would be a great place to live and write. The “famous” writer asks repeated questions of the painter who becomes perturbed at the interruptions, and down right angry when Shinsaku disparages his artwork. The two end up in a childish fight broken up by a pretty woman from the village. Shinsaku rents a house for himself and his young family soon thereafter. To his chagrin, he finds that even quaint towns can be noisy at times.
Immature Shinsaku called his wife, a very young Tanaka Kinuyo, an “idiot” several times, berating her for not being quiet enough or the children not being quiet enough. When he asked, “Why did you have to have a baby?” I loved her reply, “You were responsible, too!” From there Shinsaku scolds her for backtalking him. He was malleable when people flattered him, but unable to use kind language with his wife. Kinuyo constantly nagged him to write so that they could pay their bills instead of him playing mahjong with the boys or hanging out with the neighbors. When he finally attempted to write, annoying sounds sent him into a tizzy. Perhaps all this was supposed to be a marital comedy, but I just found him ever grating and not remotely funny.
As this was Gosho’s first “talkie” he must have felt liberated being able to use sound. Scenes were filled with long minutes of people singing or playing in a band. An airplane was heard and shown which much like the music did little to move the story along. The movie felt less like a cohesive story and more like an experiment with songs and running gags. One song called, “Speed up!” at least gave Shinsaku a modicum of writer’s inspiration. It was also the mantra I repeated as the minutes dragged by.
21 April 2025
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