T anxieties and desires of an old amn, Shingo, who lives with his family in a suburb of Tokyo are shown. He hears "the sound of the mountain", the faint rumble in the hills that is a muffled hint of unknown occurrences and a foreboding of death. The affection he feels for his daughter-in-law, the increasing tensions of his relations with his wife, son and daughter are also muffled, yet disturbingly powerful.