The River Fuefuki

The River Fuefuki

1960 · 117 min · ★ 7.7 · War, Drama, History

In a time of continuous civil wars ravaging the fields of feudal Japan, the eldest son of a very poor peasant family, living alongside the bridge over the Fuefuki river, decides to serve a warlord to escape his miserable condition, being soon followed by his younger brothers. Although not all the men of the family take this tragic path of death, women of the family will be doomed to endure the pain of loss during the next five generations.

Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita · Written by Keisuke Kinoshita

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Criterion Channel

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 40m together

The River Fuefuki

Immortal Love

Both from Keisuke Kinoshita.

More from Keisuke KinoshitaSee all →

World of TwoWorld of Two · 1970
World of Two
10.01970
SeriesFamilyDrama
One night, Jiro and Reiko fell in love at first sight, and on the seventh day he proposed to her, and three months later they were married. However, the difference in upbringing between Jiro, who was born and raised in a farmhouse in Shinshu, and Reiko, who is a city girl by nature, sometimes causes small ripples in their sweet newlywed life.
Oyaji DaikoOyaji Daiko · 1968
Oyaji Daiko
9.01968
SeriesDramaFamily
The Tsuru family is a family of nine, headed by Kamejiro. Kamejiro is the president of a construction company that has made a fortune in its first generation, but he is a one-man family. His wife, Aiko, is a typical good wife and wise mother type. Kamejiro gets angry and thunders down every week, and the children are afraid of him, calling him "Oyaji Daiko", but he also takes advantage of this.
Five SiblingsFive Siblings · 1939
Five Siblings
8.01939
Movie
A businessman runs afoul of the law and commits suicide, leaving behind a wife and five children. The eldest son takes the family to Tokyo and labors to restore its name and fortune
Twenty-Four EyesTwenty-Four Eyes · 1954
Twenty-Four Eyes
7.71954
MovieDrama
From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.
The Ballad of NarayamaThe Ballad of Narayama · 1958
The Ballad of Narayama
7.51958
MovieDrama
In a remote village where food is scarce, elders who reach the age of 70 are carried by their children to the top of a nearby mountain to die in solitude. Orin, a vibrant 69-year-old grandmother, has accepted her fate — but struggles to prepare the rest of her family for the ritual.
Immortal LoveImmortal Love · 1961
Immortal Love
7.41961
MovieDramaRomance
A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.
Dodes'ka-denDodes'ka-den · 1970
Dodes'ka-den
7.11970
MovieDrama
On a Tokyo dump’s shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who “drives” an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindnesses. Kurosawa crafts a ragged mosaic of hardship, fantasy, and flickers of grace that keep people moving forward.
A Legend or Was It?A Legend or Was It? · 1963
A Legend or Was It?
7.01963
MovieDramaThriller
A Tokyo family escaping the war relocates to a Hokkaido village; their daughter is set to marry the local leader's son, but her siblings disapprove.
The Snow FlurryThe Snow Flurry · 1959
The Snow Flurry
6.91959
MovieDrama
After surviving the double suicide pact she made with her lover, a woman gives birth to their child.
Love LetterLove Letter · 1953
Love Letter
6.81953
MovieRomanceDrama
Five years after the end of the Second World War, Reikichi, a repatriated veteran, translates love letters for Japanese women to American GIs, while searching for his lost love, Michiko.
Big Joys, Small SorrowsBig Joys, Small Sorrows · 1986
Big Joys, Small Sorrows
6.81986
MovieDrama
A lighthouse keeper and his family follow work from town to town, each time making new friends and receiving a visit from his troublesome father.
ArmyArmy · 1944
Army
6.81944
MovieDramaWar
Though plagued by ill health all his life, a young Japanese man is obligated to fulfill his family's longstanding military tradition.
The PortraitThe Portrait · 1948
The Portrait
6.71948
MovieDrama
The mistress of a crook real estate broker comes to terms with her soulless existence after an artist paints her portrait.
The Garden of WomenThe Garden of Women · 1954
The Garden of Women
6.61954
MovieDrama
A student at a woman's university takes a controversial action against the school's old-fashioned doctrines.
Wedding RingWedding Ring · 1950
Wedding Ring
6.61950
MovieDramaRomance
A jewelry store president begins to fall for the doctor treating her husband's illness.
Farewell to SpringFarewell to Spring · 1959
Farewell to Spring
6.31959
MovieDrama
Five longtime friends get back together, but are disappointed to find that their bonds are not as strong as they once were.

More Like This

The Straight StoryThe Straight Story · 1999
The Straight Story
7.71999
MovieDramaAdventure
Retired farmer and widower Alvin Straight learns one day that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a severe stroke. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. He then has the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
The English PatientThe English Patient · 1996
The English Patient
7.11996
MovieDramaRomance
In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.
Schindler's ListSchindler's List · 1993
Schindler's List
8.61993
MovieDramaHistory
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
CachéCaché · 2005
Caché
7.02005
MovieMysteryDrama
As the host of a literary TV show, Georges begins receiving anonymously filmed videos of his family alongside cryptic, disturbing drawings, but as the tapes become increasingly intimate, they reveal a stalker who has known him for a very long time.
A Beautiful MindA Beautiful Mind · 2001
A Beautiful Mind
7.92001
MovieDramaRomance
From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.
SissiSissi · 1955
Sissi
7.31955
MovieComedyDrama
The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.
Sissi: The Young EmpressSissi: The Young Empress · 1956
Sissi: The Young Empress
7.01956
MovieDramaComedy
Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an EmpressSissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress · 1957
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress
7.11957
MovieRomanceDrama
After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.
The African QueenThe African Queen · 1952
The African Queen
7.31952
MovieRomanceAdventure
At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.
The Green MileThe Green Mile · 1999
The Green Mile
8.51999
MovieFantasyDrama
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
12 Mighty Orphans12 Mighty Orphans · 2021
12 Mighty Orphans
7.22021
MovieHistoryDrama
Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.
Once Upon a Time in AmericaOnce Upon a Time in America · 1984
Once Upon a Time in America
8.41984
MovieDramaCrime
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Ronia: The Robber's DaughterRonia: The Robber's Daughter · 1984
Ronia: The Robber's Daughter
7.01984
MovieAdventureDrama
Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.
The Silence of the LambsThe Silence of the Lambs · 1991
The Silence of the Lambs
8.31991
MovieCrimeThriller
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Leave No TraceLeave No Trace · 2018
Leave No Trace
6.82018
MovieDrama
A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to authorities, they are sent on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own.
Lady Chatterley's LoverLady Chatterley's Lover · 2022
Lady Chatterley's Lover
6.72022
MovieDramaRomance
After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.
The Devil Wears PradaThe Devil Wears Prada · 2006
The Devil Wears Prada
7.42006
MovieDramaComedy
A young woman from the Midwest gets more than she bargained for when she moves to New York to become a writer and ends up as the assistant to the tyrannical, larger-than-life editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine.
Das BootDas Boot · 1981
Das Boot
8.11981
MovieDramaHistory
A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter