Master director Shohei Imamura has produced a number of well-known and newsworthy films with a vitality-filled touch that pierces the humanity lurking deep within the Japanese heart. Based on a masterpiece by Shichiro Fukazawa, and set in a poor village deep in the Shinshu mountain range, The Ballad of Narayama tells the story of a son who must carry his mother on his back after she turns 70 and abandon her near the summit of Mount Narayama on a snowy day, in accordance with the local laws.