The Petrified Forest (Japanese: 化石の森, Hepburn: Kaseki no mori) is a 1973 Japanese existential drama film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Japanese author and politician Shintarō Ishihara.
Contents
Plot
The movie revolves around youth angst and a complicated relationship between mother and son. Haruo works in a university hospital trying to work toward a degree in medicine, but is hindered by his hatred of department head Mr. Miyaji. Meanwhile, he decides to get a rival in love out of the way by poisoning him. As the angst-ridden Haruo deals with his problems in his own unique ways, his nagging mother holds out hope that her son will soon return home.
Cast
Kenichi Hagiwara
Sayoko Ninomiya
Masako Yagi
Takeshi Kusaka
Hiroshi Mizushima
Masami Horiuchi
Shin Tatsuoka
Akio Tanaka
Shin Kishida
Release
The Petrified Forest was released theatrically in Japan on 1 September 1973, where it was distributed by Toho.