This early Shinoda film is about a generation gap between a widow and her daughter who has just graduated from high school. The daughter, who is having romance problems of her own, is appalled when the mother gets a suitor. Meanwhile the mother's new boyfriend has a secret of his own. Among other things, this movie is a look at the changing attitudes between the generation in postwar Japan. The mother is a popular kouta (a form of traditional Japanese song) performer and instructor while the daughter wears Western clothes and listens to rock and roll and jazz. (The literal translation of the movie's title--Shamisen and Motorcycle-- more accurately describes this conflict.) The cinematography, soundtrack and acting in this movie are all so good that it seems almost churlish to complain about the story itself. It isn't particularly bad but it isn't all that interesting either. But it's too Shinoda's credit (the script apparently was forced on him by the studio) that everything else about the movie is so good that he makes it worth watching anyway.

LOVE OLD AND NEW / SHAMISENS AND MOTORCYCLES (Lit.] (SHAMISEN TO OOTOBAI). Viewed on Streaming. Dubbing/looping = four (4) stars; subtitles = four (4) stars; cinematography/lighting = (3) stars. Director Masahiro Shinoda packs a lot into an accelerated soaper including: traditional music and fast machines; generational conflict yet duplication; single parenting and parental identity; jazz dance music (no rock and roll); unrealistic expectations from mother/daughter bonding; and parental (and teenage) dating and sex. Shinoda wraps things up (more or less) with a telegraphed unhappy dual ending. The plot involves a widowed mother and shamisen koura (ballad) teacher (with a local TV following) ending up with her daughter (a high schooler about to graduate) who belongs to an "upper-middle class" biker gang being hospitalized after a serious, high-speed crash (on her boyfriend's cycle) where the orthopedic surgeon turns out to be the widow's first lover who had disappeared almost 20 years ago into the Pacific War and is the real father of his new patient (got all that?!). Most of this is described and delivered using machine-gun (or motorcycle) speed line deliveries (see below). The film starts and ends with high-speed biker riding. Stunt performers do some incredible things in these shots. Actors and especially actresses playing teenagers have obviously left their teen years behind! Leading actresses Miyuki Kuwano (complete with puppy-dog eyes) as the daughter and Yumeji Tsukioka as her mother standout. Dialog during most of the film occurs at, perhaps, the most rapid pace to date for any Japanese film. It is also stuffed with contemporary slang and obsolete words plus performer use a Western dialect. If you consider yourself fluent in Japanese, try this and see if you can pass! Most viewers, however, likely will be heavily dependent on the subtitles which are usually short enough to be read in a glance. Sound dubbing and looping are outstanding. The latter provides totally clear and naturally sounding voices even on motorcycles! Cinematography (2.35:1, color) and lighting are okay except that the camera usually bounces around during road/street shots. Composition of many wide-screen scenes could be a bit enhanced. Sure it's way out of date and a typical Shochiku programmer. But it's fun to watch nonetheless. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.