Released 1952.
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
With:
Kinuyo Tanaka,
Tsukie Matsuura,
Ichirô SugaiWhat is it about historical Japanese films (or society) that people, especially women, have to walk so slow? Is it the outfits that they are wearing - the Samurai culture? Everyone just shuffles around. This is the second Japanese film that I have seen where the movement of the actor is excruciating slow.
At first the film started slowly and then stuff started to happen. There's definitely some interesting themes to think about..
It is the mid 17th century in Japan, about an older (50 years old) reflects on her life and how she got to where she is now (in one long flashback). With out telling about every episode that happens, she starts as a lady in waiting at the royal court, but then fails in love with a man below her station. Their love affair is found out and she and her family are exiled from Kyoto. What follows is a series of events in which her problems get solved only to end in worse circumstances that she already was. . In one of the first episodes, she become concubine to an emperor and births the heir to the throne, but she is summarily dismissed after the baby is born and she sent back to live with her parents.
She seems to drift with the winds of fate. It appears she has no free will and that her fate is decided by men (or jealous wives). This is certainly a commentary on the freedom of women even in modern times. The fact that this film is set in the Samurai times makes me think that it is a metaphor for the freedom., or lack there of, of women in society. This film was made in 1952, a time when women had much less rights than they do now and also made in Japan, a country which has been more male dominated then most countries.
The film really grew on me as it continued on from the opening scene.
There's lots more that would be interesting to talk about, but I am trying to keep these short, otherwise I'll never be able to keep up.
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