I saw this movie many years ago on TV. The director is supposed to be as famous as Kurosawa, but I just couldn't remember the title and couldn't find this movie anywhere in the internet.

I realize this not a "travel question" but I would like to see this movie again before I go to Japan.

It's about a young mother who is a prostitute. She and her son lived in a houseboat, and they moved to new village one day. The story is more about the friendship between the young son (about 7-8) and another kid from the village. One scene that struck me was that the son liked to pour lamp oil onto the river crab and set it on fire. Another scene was the boy peeping into the mother's cabin while her client was in the room. The camera only showed his tatooed back, and her face when she realized that her son was watching.

Does this ring a bell for anyone? please help if you remember this movie. Thanks.

What year roughly? Was it "Street of Shame"?

It was B&W movie, probably late 50's. It is not Street of Shame, which is more like a comedy (?). This is about a mother and son who lived in a houseboat.

You may be better off at a forum for movie buffs. (I presume such groups exist!)

Could it be Doro no Kawa? Made in 1981 in B&W, but set in the mid-1950s.

Yes! its Doro no Kawa (Muddy River). I did a search on photos from the film, and this one came up: exactly the scene that was burnt into my mind after all these years. Beautiful movie.

www.sentieriselvaggi.it

Now I can rent/buy it and plan my trip to Japan next year.

sorry, wrong link. It should be:

http://www.sentieriselvaggi.it/artic...=218&art=29859