Haha no Kyoku (Mother's Music) The Japanese Stella Dallas
The Japanese version of Stella Dallas is both similar yet different from the
American version. In this post I will focus more on the Japanese version
but will refer to the American version at certain points. The film Mother's
Music surrounds a family: the mother (Haruko), father (Junkichi), and
daughter (Keiko). Junkichi was raised in a wealthy family and had a girlfriend
(Kanae) who was a pianist. However, as soon as Junkichi's father dies,
their family goes bankrupt and Junkichi and Kanae separate to pursue their
careers; especially since Junkichi is now poor. Afterwards, he returns
back to his hometown to a hot spring hotel to recover. In the hotel there
is a maid named Haruko who cares for him with sincere love and eventually they
get married. Together they have a child named Keiko with musical talent,
grace, and high society qualities. The film surrounds Haruko's inability
to become a woman of high society hindering her daughter Keiko's future life,
Junkichi's wish for his wife to be more high class for the sake of his
daughter, and Keiko's immense love for her mother despite her flaws.
Throughout the story Haruko is laughed at and scorned by other mothers and
eventually, Junkichi reunites with Kanae by chance and they get married.
Many things take place where Keiko decides to live with her mother separately
unhappy by her father's marriage but Haruko sees that Kanae is the "ideal
mother" for Keiko and decides to give Kanae and Junkichi custody of Keiko
for her daughter's sake. Keiko opposes this and returns home to find
Haruko and her old acquaintance, Ryusaku of low class named Kunisaku drinking
and acting shameful. This situation was planned by Haruko to force her
daughter to stay with Kanae and leave her. Keiko is sad and surprised by
her mother's act and as planned leaves. Since then Haruko watches Keiko
from afar in the shadows as she becomes a pianist like Kanae and eventually
engaged. On the wedding day, Haruko watches as her daughter leaves
married in a beautiful wedding dress. As the car with the married couple
drives away, Haruko walks on to the street to watch the couple drive away and
gets hit by a passing car. She okay after the hit and the film ends with
her standing back up again and smiling.
There are many melodramatic themes
and points in this film such as social class, class mobility, family
relationships and marriage conflicts. Social class is a large melodramatic
theme in the film Mother’s Music. The mother
Haruko jumps from being a maid at a hotel to the wife of a wealthy upper class
man. She feels a lot of pressure as the
wife and even when she has Keiko there is even more pressure on becoming the
ideal mother. At the school’s mothers
meeting in the beginning of the film, Haruko barely socializes with the other
mothers in fear of saying something wrong.
The other mothers ask in the middle of the meeting what Haruko was like
when she was young in school and she replies that she has always loved love
stories and they all laugh at her. When
Junkichi goes to Berlin for a business trip, Haruko mentions how she will make
efforts to educate herself and belong to high society. She becomes licensed in flower arrangement, learns
English, reading and writing. However
even so when the husband returns, he is even more cultured and high in
class. Then the father and Keiko go
watch a pianist perform together. Haruko
cannot seem to impress him despite all of her efforts and feels as if she
cannot keep up with her own daughter and husband. There is a moment where Ryusaku (low class)
comes to visit the house and is lying on tatami floor. Suddenly the headmaster of the school who
came to visit Haruko comes in and finds Haruko and her friend together. This is
very suspicious and even more so because of the friend’s low class. A mother also spots Haruko walking with her
friend and a rumor is started leading to Keiko’s birthday party celebration
without friends.
Another melodramatic theme in this
move is family relationships. The father
marries a lower class woman; however as soon as he is reunited with Kanae the
pianist, the two have a relationship again and plan on getting married as soon
as Junkichi divorces Haruko. This is a
sad turn of events because not only does he love Kanae his ex-girlfriend but
his purpose is also to find a “better” mother for Keiko who can help nurture
her into the high class society instead of bringing her down like her mother
Haruko. This is very sad, heart
wrenching and angers the audience.
Haruko worked hard to make herself educated yet she cannot seem to enter
the same level as everyone else. In
addition, Keiko loves Haruko despite her uneducated but Haruko is determined
that Kanae is the ideal mother; therefore, she creates a situation where she
drinks with Ryusaku and then Keiko finding it appalling leaves the house and
decides to stay with Kanae and her father.
Of course, Haruko did not want Keiko to leave but it was for her own
good and this was very melodramatic.
This movie is definitely one that can connect with the hearts of mothers
and women from all around the world.
This film Mother’s Music can
be considered ninjobon, which is intended for women because women
can identify with this mother daughter drama.
Another melodramatic point of this
movie is the ending. In the end of the
movie, Haruko stands and watches Keiko leave in her wedding gown with her
husband. As the car drives away, Haruko
walks after it slowly and then is struck by a car. Compared to the American version, Stella
walks away happy and with tears but is not struck by a car? With this add extra to the Japanese version,
it puts more pity on Haruko then ever before even though she does not get
injured. It is even worse because the
last scene is raining and the weather is awful.
A big difference that I would like
to note between the American and Japanese version is their titles: American
version’s title (Stella Dallas) and
Japanese title (Mother’s Music). The reason the Japanese version’s title is Mother’s Music is because Haruko has
composed her own and daughter’s life.
This is how the mother wanted the movie to play out. She wanted Keiko to have Kanae as her mother
and grow up to be successful, happy, and marry a great person. In the end, she is happy and proud of her
success despite the tragedy of it all to the audience.
Presentation:
Themes or Topics
to Discuss:
-Social
class/mobility
-Family
relationships
-Female viewer
oriented
-Train-Stella
and Laurel’separation
-Train Scene
-Birthday Scene
-Wedding Scene
Characters:
Japanese
|
American
|
Ine Hatano
|
Stella
|
Junji Hatano
|
Stephen
|
Keiko Hatano
|
Laurel
|
Ryusaku
|
Ed Munn
|
Kaoru Fujinami
|
Helen
|
Mothers
|
Mothers
|
Headmaster
|
Differences:
Japanese
|
Similarities
|
American
|
Ine works
at a hot spring hotel
-Does not like
to socialize
-Very quiet
|
Both poor
background
|
Stella is
daughter of a mill factory worker
-Loves to
socialize- flirty
-Loud
|
Keiko: musical
talent in piano, becomes a professional pianist
|
Both gracious
and high class, get married
|
Laurel: tennis
and horseback riding
|
Kaoru single
but successful professional pianist
|
Both become
the “mother”
|
Helen: widow
with 3 sons
|
Ryusaku: Ine ends up living with him, and they support each other after she divorces husband.
|
Low class and
takes part in portraying both characters as low class
|
Ed Munn: He is
used as a way to get Laurel to return to Helen’s house. Pretend to have marriage with Stella.
|
Difference
between American and Japanese culture!
Questions:
-In the film Stella Dallas, Helen and Laurel becoming
mother and daughter. What do you think
of this relationship?
-Do you think
that Stella’s decision to have Helen raise Laurel the right way to go?
-What do you
think of Stephen (husband)?
-He initially told Stella to be herself
and not a fake as in a high class woman, but in the end, he really wanted her
to have more etiquette and be more proper.
-What do you
think of the title Mother’s Music of
the Japanese version for Stella Dallas?
-Does the title make sense and fit with
the movie?
-Does the father and daughter each
have their own “musical compositions?”
-In the end of
the movie Stella walks away happy and crying, while in the Japanese version
Haruko walks toward the car that is far down the road smiling and then gets hit
by a car but survives. What do you think
of this addition to the ending? Does it
make it more melodramatic?
- What are you
feelings toward Helen who not only marries Stephen taking him away from Stella
but also becomes mother of Stella? Is
she good or bad?
-Japanese
version more melodramatic?
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