During the Second World War, a Japanese forester is sent to Indochina where he unexpectedly falls in love with a typist. When the war ends, they return to Tokyo and strive to maintain their affair despite the obstacles of society, personal ambitions, and their own insecurities. Adapted from a novel by celebrated author Fumiko Hayashi, Floating Clouds serves as a poignant depiction of Japan’s emotional turmoil in the aftermath of the war and stands as one of Mikio Naruse’s greatest cinematic achievements.

Reviews

‘Mikio Naruse slowly distances us from his lovers and their actions so that the film’s climactic progression of events hits us all the more fiercely.’ 
★★★★★
Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine

‘Naruse’s greatness as a director–and he is the peer of Kurosawa, Ozu and Mizoguchi–comes from unobtrusive virtues. He is a master of construction, detail, editorial rhythm; of understated emotions and unsparing glimpses of life and people as they are.’ 
Michael Wilmington, LA Times