Shohei Imamura created a masterpiece of universal value, which was unanimously awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival... With stunning landscapes and humanitarian sentimentality, The Ballad of Narayama is elegant; it captures elements of extreme human beauty, which is perhaps the best explanation of what it truly means to be human. True to form, Shohei Imamura draws a direct parallel between the basic drives and instincts (hunger, greed, lust, wrath, envy) of humans and those of other animals. An exceptional film!