.jpg)
Ishun is a wealthy, but unsympathetic, master printer who has wrongly accused his wife and best employee of being lovers. To escape punishment, the accused run away together, but Ishun is certain to be ruined if word gets out.
Kenji Mizoguchi stages this harrowing and heart-wrenching tragedy with a superb cast and beautiful black-and-white cinematography.
Maltin***1/2: "Superior performances, stunning direction..."
.jpg)
Yukiko's fiance learns her mother runs a geisha house and ends their engagement. She despises what her mother does until one of her clients shows interest and starts to woo her.
Lesser known Kenji Mizuguchi melodrama nonetheless reveals his mastery for realistic, highly dramatic and heart-felt stories of female fates; superb cast, beautiful cinematography and excellent settings all around.
Maltin**1/2: "Minor Mizuguchi."
.jpg)
A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.
This elegantly photographed tragedy conveys and condemns female exploitation and suppression in Japanese society; the ensemble is excellent and the settings wonderfully detailed.
Maltin***: "Beautiful photography by the great Kazuo Miyagawa complements Mizuguchi's usual biting social critique."
