Original subtitles

Five Men in a Circus

Cast

Masako Tsutsumi

Kamatarari Fujiwara

Heihachiro Okawa

Unezono Ryuko

Directed by Mikio Naruse

I think we should break up here.

Did you get paid for today?

Yeah, we did.

See you next time!

Wait! How far is the next hot spring resort from here?

It's not that far. About 12 kilometers I think.

12 kilometers....

My legs are already stiff with fatigue.

You are still lucky. Think about me carrying this drum all the way!

Let's take a break here before we move on.

I just can't stand the heat!

I miss Tokyo....

Don't start complaining so soon. We have a long way to go.

I'll put on this yukata.

I should steal one too at the next inn we are going to.

Haven't you stolen enough yet?

Well, shall we get going?

To the elementary school athletic meet!

You can't just cancel at the last minute!

Well, they had a meeting yesterday and that�s what they�ve decided.

The athletic meet's been postponed.

But what about us?

Come back next spring.

That's not what we had agreed on!

I hope you enjoyed the food.

Oh, that was a great meal.

Whatever you make is better than a ll the world's delicacies put together!

You are very good at flattery!

Well, I mean it.

Here we go again!

Wherever he goes he never misses an occasion to cruise women!

TAre you being jealous?

Hey, what's that jinta playing outside? Who are they?

Jinta?

A brass band like us is called jinta.

Oh, I see. It's a traveling circus.

A circus?

Yes, they just arrived in town and erected their tent today.

Why don't you go check it out, there is a very beautiful girl among them.

If that's the case...

...then we must go!

Shall we go too?

Yes, let's go.

Aren't you coming too?

I have a stomach ache.

Really?

I think there was something wrong with the sashimi I ate.

That's true, it wasn't very fresh actually.

Really? I thought it was good. Anyway, why don't you lie down for a while.

Yeah, I guess I'll stay here and rest. You guys can go without me.

What happened?

Bastard! What does he take me for? Be careful with him.

He's in that room over there.

You are such a cruel man!

To cheat me and leave me alone like this!

You came all the way to find me?

You have no idea how strong a woman's passion for love can be.

How did you find out that I was here?

I saw the banners on the balcony!

You are not going to get away from me this time!

Kunio!

Sumiko!

Are you alone?

No, I came with my sister.

She's always worried about us

and tells me what she thinks of us.

Like what?

No, I can't tell you.... anything.

Well, one thing she says is that it's your feeling for me that counts more then anything.

So you want to hear again what I feel?

I've told you already that I'm ready to get out of this life

at any moment if you are also up to it.

But....

Your father treats me like his worst enemy these days.

He's not a bad person, you know.

It all started when my mother left him.

Poor Dad!

Since then he doesn't even care about me and my sister anymore.

But that doesn't change anything for us!

I might just quit working for him soon.

Why?

You'll know why tomorrow.

Why? Tell me!

Hey! What are you doing there!

Damn! I missed him.

He left one of his sleeves.

Are you all right, lady?

I can deal with a guy like that by myself.

Ha! Did you hear that?

Hey, aren't you from the circus?

That's true, I remember her too!

Did you see us today?

We were enchanted!

Then come again tomorrow.

Unfortunately we are not staying here long.

We travel from place to place just like you guys.

Oh, is that so?

Good bye!

Are you looking for a hostess?

Go in the back if you want to see Madam.

How do you feel?

TaI feel much better now.

Good.

We saw something interesting outside.

We just ran into someone like you!

There was a guy harassing a girl in a field so we beat him up!

Look!

I tore a sleeve off the guy's yukata!

Wait a second, it's got the same design as yours!

Torakichi: Hey, was that you?

Yeah, it was you!

Well, that's no surprise!

I'm ashamed of myself.

Are you drunk again?

Not there, not there! Come this side.

Let's take a bath and go to bed.

We are going to have a nice weather tomorrow.

Kunio is complaining.

Complaining? He's got such a nerve! Bring him here!

They've got a bigger jinta than us.

And they work with girls every day!

Chiyoko, have you seen Sumiko?

She was here a moment ago.

I need to talk to you later.

She must be the one the innkeeper was talking about.

Yeah, right. Do you think they are sisters?

They must be.

I'll have a steak please.

A: A steak? Fumi, a steak please!

What? A steak?

A steak? I gotta run to the meat shop!

I don't hate touring, all I'm saying is that I'm not going to do this job forever.

None of us do jinta because we like it.

None of us work as hostess because we like it.

But I want to become a real musician.

I understand how you feel,

but this is the way of the world. Be patient and wait till the time comes.

The way of the world....

Buy some souvenirs please!

How much is this one?

30 sen!

Why don't you order something?

No, I've had enough.

Order something for us!

For me too!

Thank you very much.

We don't want any.

Wait!

How old are you?

I'm eleven.

What's the matter?

When I see a girl of her age, it reminds me of something....

What is it?

Years ago I abandoned...

Abandoned what?

A child. I abandoned my daughter. If she's alive she's ten now.

My wife had just died and I was left alone with our baby....

Let's change the subject, it's depressing to talk about it.

I didn't know about it....

Well, let's drink!

By the way, we haven't listened to your favorite tune tonight.

Can you play this record for me?

What is it? A hit song from Tokyo?

Just put it on please.

This is something you never forget wherever you go.

Doing jinta sometimes makes me feel that I'm becoming corrupt.

So this is to refresh my soul.

Are you taking your yukata again?

It's always good to have a spare!

Oh, you don't have to fold them.

You got to be smart like me!

Are you ready to go?

Someone from the circus wants to talk to you.

How do you do?

I'm from the Asahi circus.

I'm here to ask you a big favor....

We've had some trouble with our musicians and male circus artists,

and they've been refusing to work....

Our leader is such a tyrant!

But when you think about what happened to him,

it is natural that he should behave like this....

We must make him realize that he needs us!

Like Kunio says, it would be better if we could reach an agreement peacefully.

Yeah, right. I would be happy to work for him again

if he showed more sympathy toward us.

In any case, let's leave everything to Kunio, he's the smartest of us all.

Kunio: Let me take care of the matter. I'm not going to make you lose face.

Soon they are going to come back to me begging for work.

But I think they are making their point.

I can't just listen to whatever they say. I don't trust them.

But what if they decide to leave us for good?

I could find replacements anytime.

You are not being reasonable.

I don't care if I'm being reasonable or not. Don't tell me what to do.

Well, I have to!

What are you going to do for tonight, for example?

Of course we'll have a show!

How can we put up a show only with girls?

We'll get another jinta to make up for the rest.

Give me your jacket.

Lucky! Look what I found.

Hey, I found out that those two girls are both the leader's daughters.

You are always quick to find out that kind of information!

I find the younger sister more beautiful.

I much prefer the older sister myself.

I warn you now, you don't touch those girls!

Hello.

Oh, it's you!

What a coincidence!

That bastard last night was outrageous, wasn't he?

What's wrong? Is your belt broken?

Use this one instead.

Look, your shirt is so dirty.

I haven't washed it for quite a while.

You should wash your clothes more often. Being a man is not an excuse!

Isn't Kokichi getting a lot of attention from her?

Are you going to leave them alone like that?

You'll see.

Did you all get dressed? Now please go out and make the round in town.

I knew that he would do this to us!

We got to show him that we have our pride!

Kunio, what are we going to do about it?

Did Kunio tell you what he was going to do?

He wants us to stay like this for a while.

Huh, he has no guts!

Is that really what he said?

Don't ask me about it anymore.

I'm asking you because I care about you.

Maybe you two could run away from the circus together.

No, we couldn't do that!

Why are you always like this? He must have suggested that to you already.

Am I wrong? If you are being like this, Kunio might go away without you!

What are you going to do? You don't have to worry about us, you know.

As for Father, I can take care of him by myself.

I wish I could die now....

Don't say such a thing!

Why do you always take things so negatively?

Do you have anything to wash? I'm going to do the laundry.

Well, then can you wash this for me?

Can you wash my shirt too? Oh, no, I don't have any spare shirt....

Who gave you this candy?

That man over there.

You must restrain yourself a little!

Our leader is specially strict about these matters! You guys should keep that in mind as well!

Where can I go to do the washing?

I'll go with you,

it'd be a little hard to find the way there by yourself. Do you have soap with you?

I filched one that someone had left in the back of the tent.

Oh, that's mine!

Really? I didn't know it was yours.

It's all right. You can use it. Sumiko, I'll let you go. See you later.

Listen, I don't think it would be very entertaining to put up a show only with girls.

Can't we manage just for tonight?

No, I don't think so. Why don't we ask the jinta people to perform on stage?

But how could they possibly do anything interesting?

Well, let me deal with them. I can find them roles.

They could be quite entertaining on stage since they are already a bit crazy, you know.

No way! We would lose our audience if we did that.

But as I said already...

Forget the idea! Tonight we'll do the show only with girls and see how it goes.

So you don't have a family....

No. I'm alone.

How long have you been touring with them?

I joined the jinta about a year ago.

But what I really want to do is to study the violin in Tokyo.

You play the violin?

Yeah, that's my passion. I want to be a famous violinist. I hope I can quit this job soon and...

Yeah, you should quit a job like this. You are alone and free to do whatever you like.

There's nothing great about being an itinerant entertainer.

It spoils you.

I don't know how I would end up myself.

I have given up hope and that makes me sad.

Well, I guess I'm being too sentimental. But one good thing about working in the circus is...

that I've met so many different people, and because of that

when I see someone I can tell right away if he has a good nature or not.

Would you like some?

No thank you.

Hey, remember that we must restrain ourselves.

I want to...when the moon shines... I want to sing with you...

You won't do this again, promise?

Now let's be friends and tell me why you did such a thing.

I needed money.... I wanted to send money to my sick aunt.

To your aunt?

I was abandoned as a baby and she's the person who brought me up.

You mean you are an orphan?

Yes.

How old are you?

I'm 10 years old.

And your name?

Hanako.

Where were you abandoned?

In Tokyo.

Do you have a mole on your arm?

Yes, I do.

Show it to me! No, your right arm.

I don't have a mole on my right arm.

No? Are you sure?

Yes, I am.

What's wrong?

Ah, well.... I just happen to be looking for an orphan for a friend of mine.

I wish I could see my real parents.

Is your aunt kind to you?

Yes, very much.

I really wish I could send her some money....

I see. But it's not good to steal money from someone.

Maybe I can help you out for that.

Oh let me hear your voice please... let me cry over...

the dream of tomorrow...my sweet love....

Hey, she just laughed a little!

Well, who wouldn't laugh at your singing?

Hi there! How are you doing? Well, we have a favour to ask you today.

We want you people to do some circus performances tonight.

What?

We have no male performer in the troupe at the moment,

so our leader thought that maybe you people could try!

Are you kidding? We are musicians but not performers.

We are not asking you to do anything difficult or dangerous.

We just need a bit of clowning and singing.... Just now I heard one of you singing a song,

What do you think, Torakichi?

Well, I will do anything but that!

And you will of course be remunerated for it.

I thought many times about running away....

But that was when I was younger and naive.

Well, I guess even now I do feel like running away sometimes.

I dream about having a home somewhere with a man I love.

I wouldn't care if we are poor.

I'm an ordinary woman after all.

To dream about it makes me forget the sadness and hardship of this life on the road.

Perhaps it's the kind of dream a woman like me has all her life.

You, I want you to sing just like you were doing.

And you will ride a bicycle.

You will do some trapeze stuff, okay?

Trapeze! That's too dangerous!

We'll give you some training so you can get used to it.

And even if you fall, people would love that anyway!

What would I do?

Try if you can!

Yes, we will!

Can't you reconsider?

No! I'm not going to change my mind!

What's going on?

Let's see.... What can you do for tonight....

This man plays the violin well.

Violin? We do have a violin...

You have a violin?

...but that wouldn't work. People wouldn't find it very amusing.

Please let me play the violin! Please! I would do it for free.

If we don't have to pay you for that, we can let you do it.

You'd better try to get money while you can!

Is that all you had to say? Now get out of here!

If you don't listen to us, we are not going to just sit and wait.

Do whatever you like! Go ahead if you want to turn your back on me!

But remember this is my troupe and I'm not going to give it up even if I become alone!

Dad!

Get off me! Be a traitor like them if you want!

Go wherever you like with Kunio!

It's kind of fun, isn't it?

What's coming next?

Hey, it's our turn!

Now it's your turn. Do your best!

They liked it! Good job!

Are you ready, everybody?

You know how to do it, right?

Yes, and what about the pay?

Oh, that will be after the show. To the stage!

It's going well so far. Looks like we are going to make it!

It wasn't bad at all!

Now would you be kind enough to...

Oh, yes, yes.

Hanako! Take this.

Thank you.

I'll see you later.

Did you give her money? Did she tell you that her aunt was sick?

Yes, she did.

And that she was an orphan?

Yes.

You know, that's all bullshit.

She lies to everybody like that all the time to get pocket money to buy sweets.

Go get your money back.

No, that's all right....

Do a good job.

Are you going to play now?

Yes.

But do you think they can understand your music?

It doesn't really matter

I just want one person to appreciate my music and that's enough.

Good luck! I'll be listening from here.

What the hell is this? Tell him to stop!

It was great! It was wonderful!

Thank you. As long as you could appreciate my music....

You shouldn't care about what they think.

They don't understand your music.

I will make it at any cost.

I'm sure you can become a great musician if you study.

Sumiko! Sumiko! It's your turn!

Are you trying to interrupt the show?

Listen, people!

Does it hurt?

I...I wanted to die!

So it wasn't an accident, was it?

Chiyoko, am I stupid?

No, you are not.

But you are not very courageous to want to kill yourself

It seems Father has changed his mind, so don't worry.

Please try to talk them into coming back again.

And how is Sumiko?

She is doing all right. Fortunately there was no major injury.

Such a fool she is!

What are you brooding on?

I'm thinking about women's passion for love.... It's pretty scary.

Are you becoming more compassionate all of a sudden?

You know, there's this woman that's been weighing on my mind....

So you think you are really something, huh?

Oh, I'm not saying that out of conceit.

You work for one day and get fired the next day!

I think it's better like this for us.

Hey, what about your compassion?

Take me with you wherever you go!

Look, I have gifts for all of you.

I got all these from the bar where I was working.

It was such a short time... but I'll never forget you.

I won't forget you either.

I hope you'll be able to study in Tokyo soon.

I wish you the best.

Thank you.

I guess I let you go now.

Good Bye

Good bye.

Life is a journey....

The End