The Elegant Life of Mr Everyman

Directed by Kihachi Okamoto

Eburi is a lowly salaryman who drunkenly promises two magazine editors that he will write them a masterpiece. Once sober, Eburi commits himself to his promise and after deliberating over what to write about, he decides to write a novella using himself, his middle class life and his experiences as the theme.

Based on the popular magazine series by Hitomi Yamaguchi and falling within the framework of Toho’s popular genre of ‘Salaryman Comedies’, this classic film depicts the life of Eburi (played by Keiju Kobayashi in a career-defining role), showing his mixed feelings about Japan’s social and economic outcome of the Second World War. Featuring animation and audacious editing, this idiosyncratic and inventive film is a timeless treatment of life in postwar Japan.

 

Duration:
102 minutes

Translated title:
Eburi man shi no yugana seikatsu

Languages:
Japanese

Subtitles:
Full English

Country of origin:
Japan

Year of production:
1963