Narayama: Not Just About Tradition, But Resources?

Okay, so I finally watched Shohei Imamura's "The Ballad of Narayama" (1983). Brutal stuff, right? I knew it was gonna be heavy, but the sheer practicality of it all got me thinking WAY more about the world-building than just the shock value. Everyone focuses on the tradition aspect of ubasute, like it's purely about honoring the gods or whatever. But I'm wondering if there's a deeper, more MALTHUSIAN reason for it beyond simple blind faith. Think about it: the village is clearly struggling. We see scarcity, we see desperate measures. What if the whole 'Narayama' thing isn't just some sacred ritual, but a brutally efficient population control mechanism? Like, it’s dressed up in religious terms for the sake of social cohesion, but the UNDERLYING reason is that they literally can't support unproductive mouths. The whole scene where Orin gets her teeth knocked out to show she's ready to go? That's not just about acceptance, it's about physically rendering her incapable of consuming resources. I think Imamura is showing us a society where survival trumps sentiment, where tradition is twisted to serve a harsh ecological reality. Plus, consider the characters who try to buck the system. There's always a consequence, right? It throws the whole community into disarray. In a world this fragile, even one 'extra' mouth can be a disaster. I'm not saying its right but a world where the rules change is a cool idea for world building. I wonder what a modern take on this concept would even look like. I just keep thinking of the scene where she's getting carried up the mountain...its grim but the point is made...every choice has consequences. Anyway, that's just my two cents. I'm sure there are tons of interpretations out there, but I'm a sucker for thinking about the practical implications of these kinds of extreme social structures. Anyone else have thoughts on this? Am I way off base, or does that scarcity angle hold some water?