Japan Synopsis
Восточная элегия
A surreal journey of a displaced spirit as he wanders in the interminable darkness through the temporal landscape of a quaint and isolated feudal-era fishing village. Guided by a series of faintly illuminated rooms, the wandering spirit comes upon ancient souls who take on physical forms as they recount their personal stories of daily existence, loss, and tragedy in the peasant community. Intrigued by his initial visit to a curiously distracted elderly woman, the spirit returns to her home in order to ask a fundamental question – "What is happiness?" – an existential query that is innocently answered with innate humility and accepted unknowingness.
The 1995–1997 Japan Window
142 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Oriental Elegy sits at position #101.
Other Titles From NHK
The 1990s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1990s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Oriental Elegy premiered. 447 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #3,215 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (30th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.4 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Drama productions specifically: #1,409 of 1,933 (top 73%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | Japan, Russia |
| Original Language | Ru |
| Spoken Languages | Japanese, Russian |
| Production Companies | NHK, Severny Fond, Lenfilm |
| Runtime | 43m |
| Release Date | April 26, 1996 |
| IMDb | tt0122467 |