This film is the centerpiece of the current Mikio Naruse season at the National Film Theatre and has had numerous recent reviews, most of which dub it a masterpiece. I am not so certain. Naruse's films are not terribly well-known in the West -- the last season of his films was ten years ago, but in Japan he is apparently highly considered in the same breath as Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kurosawa. Now although I have seen very few of his emormous output (and he was active from the silent period), on the strength of this one, I remain to be convinced.
Its heroine, beautifully played by Hideko Takamine, is a widow, slightly past her prime who makes a living as a hostess at Ginza clubs. She may need to grind her teeth and gird her loins each time that she ascends the stairs to enter the club, but despite the distasteful nature of her work she keeps her dignity and chastity. We follow her as she tries to secure her future, either by raising the funds to open her own club without having to give herself sexually in exchange or by marrying a wealthy man (assuming she can find one to accept her). None of her hopes materialize and when she finally gives herself to the married man that she loves, this too proves to be a dead end for her. She can only continue to carry on, especially since her hopeless mother and brother are constantly demanding funds. In this sense, the film thematically had a great deal in common with "The White Countess" below.
However, despite being a realistic depiction of a woman's fortitude, the sheer hopelessness of virtue being its own reward was more than a little dispiriting. Moreover the film was not even any kind of cinematic treat with a nearly static camera minimising the action. I found it the work of a more than competent director, but not really the "masterpiece" I was expecting.
1 comment:
Very static camera work reminded me very much of Ozu though without the low
angle set-up. I have wondered previously whether there is a correlation between
the social content of films and the way they are considered which is why comedies
so rarely get the credit at least some of them are due. Serious subjects must
mean serious cinema is the motto and it is not always the case. Many of the
highly regarded films of the last few decades which have attacked social and
economic injustices are actually rather poor films but to say so is heresy. I would
not call this film poor as the cutting was sharp but 'masterpiece' is rather too much!
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