Tag: era: prewar

Categories
drama, melodrama gendai-geki shomin-geki

“Osaka Elegy”: Family First or Societal Norms?

Osaka Elegy or Naniwa Ereji was a film directed by Mizoguchi Kenji and was considered his first attempt as a director. The film was released in 1936 and was a companion film to his second major work Sisters of the Gion, which was also released in the same year. Osaka Elegy received international interest and was later released in the United States in 1979. The main character, Murai Ayako, is played by Yamada Isuzu, who also starred as a main character in Sisters of the Gion, as Omocha. The genre or main theme of the film focuses on the struggles of women in society.

Osaka Elegy is a story that mainly revolves around its main character, Murai Ayako. Ayako is from a lower-class family who often suffers from financial trouble. The family relies heavily on Ayako’s income working as a telephone operator at Asai Pharmaceuticals; however, their financial situation worsens as her father embezzles three-hundred yen from work and they are unable to replace the money. The troubling situation causes Ayako to become her boss’, Mr. Asai’s, mistress in order to obtain the large amount of money quickly and clear her father’s name. Ayako’s life as a mistress seems extravagant compared to her old living conditions at home; however, it does not come without consequences as she is now limited to a secretive lifestyle, often staying at her new apartment waiting for Mr. Asai. Ayako’s life is restricted by her mistress identity as she bumps into Nishimura Susumu, a man she admires, while shopping for lipstick. Nishimura asks Ayako to marry him, however, Ayako is unable to tell him the truth about her secret life and leaves abruptly. As much as Ayako keeps her identity a secret, it is uncovered by their local doctor who responds to the wrong house call when Mr. Asai falls ill. The doctor shows up at the Asai residence instead of at Ayako’s apartment; therefore alerting Mr Asai’s wife to their forbidden relationship. After the truth is uncovered, Ayako is relieved from her mistress duties and she happily goes to find Nishimura to tell him she would like to marry him. However, on her commute to find Nishimura, she unexpectedly meets her sister and receives the news that her brother does not have enough money to keep studying. In order to obtain money for her brother, Ayako finds a new suitor, Fujiro Yoshizo, and cheats him out of his money. Even though her intentions for her brother are honourable, her scheming and deceiving manipulations are not acceptable and she pays the consequences when Fujiro takes his revenge.

The camerawork done by Mizoguchi is interesting and unique as he uses many far-away long-shots and stationary camera angles. Furthermore, Mizoguchi’s camerawork emphasizes the scenes and contributes to the narrative progression. He uses long, far-away camera angles and reserves close-ups for emphasizing people’s facial expressions and for building the intensity of the atmosphere. Scenes shot before approaching the Murai residence are illustrated with the dark outdoors and the long, narrow and cramped walkway, symbolizing how the family is trapped by money and society. Furthermore, every time Mizoguchi has a scene that is outdoors, it anticipates that the next scene will relate to her family’s financial trouble, otherwise, most scenes are shot indoors. In addition, scenes taken inside the Murai residence are often shot from a low angle, like the audience is sitting on the floor with the characters. The low floor shot emphasizes the cramped living conditions in their house as we can see the span of the whole room and the adjoining small kitchen. Contrast to shots taken at the Murai’s, scenes that are shot at Ayako’s new apartment are not taken from a floor perspective but are seen to be taken from a higher perspective, almost like viewers are looking down at Ayako’s everyday life. The higher camera angle emphasizes the large rooms and empty space available in Ayako’s new apartment, a definite contrast in living conditions. Mizoguchi’s camerawork contributes to the narrative progression of the story as he emphasizes certain important aspects with symbolic camera techniques.

Ayako’s character in the film develops from an innocent, shy, and responsible telephone operator to being a mistress who is aggressive, skilled, and manipulative. Her drastic change in character can be symbolized through the metamorphosis of her wardrobe. Before becoming Mr. Asai’s mistress, Ayako wears traditional Japanese kimono in line with the norms of society; however, as her role progresses Ayako can be seen wearing clothes that are modern and western-styled. At first, her change in attire is minimally different and can only be distinguished by her overcoats, however, as she becomes more assertive, learning how to manipulate men like Fujiro for money, her attire changes drastically as she adopts western-styled dresses and western-style hats. In the end of the film, she is seen to be using western make-up and smoking western cigars. Ayako’s character is rather complex and her transformation from genuine to manipulative is symbolized through her wardrobe.

Osaka Elegy is a prime example of a film that is centered on the struggles of women in society. Its underlying message of women being suppressed and controlled by a patriarchal society is both meaningful and interesting. Even though the storyline is rather simple — a girl who needs to raise money for her family becomes a mistress — it is not that simplistic, the story has a lot of significant underlying messages that can be analyzed and interpreted. Furthermore, not only does the storyline have a deeper meaning, but Ayako’s character also has many impressive aspects as she is a character with a lot of internal conflict. Although the story of Ayako is heartbreaking, it is definitely something worth watching.

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama shomin-geki

Positivity Breeds Happiness

Tokyo Chorus (Tōkyō no kōrasu) is a silent film made in 1931 by director Ozu Yasujirô.  It deals with the realities of family life with economic struggles, combined with a comedic spin that Ozu used to present these issues in a more light-hearted manner.  This satirical shomin-geki follows the daily life of the working-class, insurance company clerk, Okajima Shinji Okajima (Okada Tokihiko), who loses his job as a result of standing up for an elderly colleague who he feels was unjustly dismissed from his job.  Okajima takes it with pride and deals with the struggles of supporting his family while trying to keep his dignity and positivity high.

The story begins in a schoolyard setting with the teacher, Mr. Omura (Saito Tatsuo), directing some outdoor drills with the students, and Okajima is introduced as the foolish student who always shows up late and mocks the teacher behind his back.  The film then flashes forward to show Okajima all grown up with a wife (played by Yagumo Emiko) and three young kids.  While preparing for work, his son asks him for a bicycle and – being the loving and caring family-man that he is – he promises to buy his son the bicycle after work since he was getting his annual bonus that day.  Unfortunately, things do not go as planned because after protesting his colleague’s unfair dismissal (leading to a rather comedic fight with his boss that involves poking each other with folded fans), Okajima, too, was dismissed from working there anymore.  Returning home with a scooter instead of a bike immediately provokes disappointment from his son and a temper tantrum ensues.  After notifying his wife of his recent unemployment, his daughter soon falls ill and needs to be taken to the hospital, but he reassures his wife that he will find a way to make money.  He ends up finding a quick source of income and manages to pay the hospital bills so that his daughter can return home healthy again.  He remains positive and makes the most out of the time he spends with his family.  With hopes of finding a job, he goes to the employment agency but has no luck.  However, upon leaving the agency, Okajima bumps into his former teacher, Mr. Omura, who offers him temporary employment helping out with his newly opened restaurant for a while. Okajima agrees to take Mr. Omura’s offer only after determining that it was out of friendship – not pity, stating that being poor makes a man sensitive.  Mrs. Okajima is humiliated after discovering that her husband had resorted to taking on a very lowly task, however, she eventually accepts how hard he is trying to earn money for his family so she offers to help out in Mr. Omura’s restaurant.  The film ends on a bittersweet note as there is a class reunion at Mr. Omura’s restaurant and Okajima receives life-changing news.

Ozu has a distinguishable form of filming, in that the camera is placed at a very low level, about one to two feet off the ground, and remains stable no matter where the actors are moving within the shot.  This is what he called the “tatami shot” because the height is similar to the eye level of a person kneeling on a tatami mat, or even lower.  Because of this low angle, however, the tops of actors’ heads are sometimes out of the frame and there are shots of only their bodies, although this could have been done on purpose.  There tend to be a lot more long shots than closeups, showing all the characters at once instead of closing in on one character at a time.  There were also other interesting shots such as when one employee at the insurance company is peering through the keyhole of the washroom to see what his colleague was up to.  This shot really makes it look as through the viewer was in his position looking through the keyhole.  Instead of using fading techniques to transition from one scene to another, Ozu tends to cut straight to the next scene and usually introducea it with a stable shot of scenery (such as trees swaying in the wind outside the school), or to static objects (such as a table in the home that sets up his family life) to set up where the next scene will take place.

The use of titles (to explain the situation) is applied sparingly throughout the film because the expressive emotions conveyed though the actors’ performances speak for themselves.  Okada Tokihiko’s character sustains genuine positivity and determination that reigns throughout the film, which is what makes it so uplifting.  A major theme in this film is dignity.  The family values their pride and dignity very much.  Okajima stands up to his boss for what he feels is the right thing to do in order to defend his colleague’s unjust dismissal.  He has no regrets about what he does and does not blame anyone for the unfortunate result of his protest.  The title, Tokyo Chorus, relates to the theme of this film because it seems that no matter what negative things happen in his life (losing his job, disappointing his son, his daughter falling ill, etc.), Okajima is able to still smile and positively get through things without accepting pity from anyone.  This is further exemplified when Mr. Omura is offering the job to Okajima and the desperate hope that his teacher will not withdraw the offer is written all over Okajima’s face as he awaits the reassuring nod from Omura, accepting that he wants to save his dignity.  Ozu’s attention to detail and mastering these emotion-focused shots allows viewers to really take in the beautiful essence of this film, as well as other films that he creates.

The cohesiveness of this film in the way that it flows along so brilliantly is what makes this simple story so captivating.  It may be categorized as a satirical portrayal of family life, but, all laughs aside, it also deals seriously with the hardships of getting through the tough times in life.  It has a good balance of mood for both of these elements and is definitely a heart-warming film.  If you enjoy these types of light-hearted films that do not contain a lot of drama in it and will provide you with lots of laughs, then Tokyo Chorus is an uplifting film for the whole family to enjoy.

Categories
drama, melodrama shomin-geki

Mizoguchi’s Fallen Women

Osaka Elegy or in Japanese Naniwa Erejii was released in 1936 and directed by Mizoguchi Kenji. His melodrama genre is often the prominent theme in many of his films. Like many of his films including Sisters of the Gion he uses the actress Yamada Isuzu as his struggling heroine caught in a male-dominated, money-oriented society. The world his heroine Ayako is trapped in is a hierarchical world prioritizing men and the rich; women are powerless and have a limited number of choices to survive in a world defined by money and power. Like Umekichi and Omocha in Sisters of the Gion, Ayako is another woman pushed around helplessly in the money oriented and patriarchical society.

In the film Ayako tries to obtain 300 yen to prevent her father from going to jail for embezzlement. She first turns to her poor suitor Nishimura. When he refuses to help she has no choice but to become her boss’ mistress. She has a respectable filial cause, saving her father and later procuring money to pay for her elder brother’s university tuition, for turning into a “delinquent” woman. She even chooses to serve the rich men in the movie for money instead of pursuing her true love. Despite all the sacrifices she’s made Ayako still ends up misunderstood, condemned by society, and even by the family she chose to selflessly help. Her efforts end up being in vain, unappreciated, and criticized.

Although the Japanese city is glamorous as it is with the bright colourful neon lights we get in the first scene Ayako and her family’s house is shabby. Whenever we get a shot of her house the lighting is always terribly dark, conveying their unfortunate fate on the brim of tragedy. The dark lighting contrasted with the bright city light reflects the importance of money in the hierarchical society. Just like her dark shabby house, Ayako’s situation is also grim. Although she is smart, talented, and pretty she is trapped in the social system in which she cannot succeed either way. There is a need for women to be subservient to men or else they will be seen as delinquent and will even get kicked out of their own houses despite serving their family loyally. Ayako is stuck between fulfilling her duty as a filial daughter which requires inactivity with her boss, or fulfilling those filial duties by straying from society’s expectations of women. There are many different demands in the film that causes Ayako to fall deeper and deeper into an unsolvable mess in which whichever she acts it is the wrong move. For example if she chooses to save her father and procure money for her brother like a filial daughter would do she will become a delinquent woman condemned by society.

Ayako is trapped in the society just as she is in her small dark home with her family, her confined cubicle in the pharmaceuticals, and finally the apartment her boss buys for her. The film captures a lot of claustrophobic space representing the confined cages women during this time are trapped in. Mizoguchi often focuses on Ayako and downplays the other characters, having their backs facing the audience with only Ayako’s face visible. We focus on Ayako’s expression and get a full-blown sense of her tiny changes of emotion. Whenever there is a man in the picture they always just sit comfortably and waited to be served. The focus is always on the men when Ayako is not there with their maids or ladies staying low on the ground and being subservient.

The only close up we get in the movie is in the final scene; the close up of Ayako’s impression conveying her loneliness. She stands by the riverside with glamorous city lights and numerous pedestrians around her, however she is pondering about her unfortunate life in tears. She then runs into her former boss’ doctor who walks the separate direction without giving her any good advice, intensifying her isolation. She walks away from the glamorous city lights blending into the darkness in the background and eventually the camera is in front of her. She walks towards the camera and as she gets closer and closer we get a detailed concentrated view of her expression; determined yet defeated in a world where she is trapped like being confined in a small view of the camera. Even when she’s walking the shot makes her look stationary; just like how she has tried so hard yet still ended up nowhere.

Osaka Elegy is a film reflecting the unsuccessful life of the struggling heroine trying to survive the unfair social system in her own way. We get a strong sense of women’s agony in a social system that leaves no place for success for women in Mizoguchi’s film. Mizoguchi’s talented techniques of focusing our attention on the social issues his heroine experiences in the movie while constantly intensifying tension and drama by his long shots, his sudden transition from one scene to another makes the movie meaningful yet entertaining at the same time. All that Ayako’s done for her family and her pursuit for true love ends in vain; like all Mizoguchi’s fallen women she is left with nothing except sorrow and loneliness. The movie has the power to capture the viewer’s undivided attention during the movie and entrap them with his message after.

Categories
drama, melodrama jidai-geki literary adaptations

The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums

Mizoguchi Kenji’s The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (残菊物語Zangiku monogatari) was originally a story by Muramatsu Shofu. This film was released in 1939, and was considered one of Mizoguchi’s great works pre-World War II. The main cast consisted of Mori Kakuko as Otoku, Kawagasaki Gonjuro as Kikugoro, and Hanayagi Shotaro as Kikunosuke. The strong performances by the cast really made this film well worth two hundred and forty minutes of my day.

The film is set in Tokyo 1888, where a popular kabuki actor Kikugoro is acting on stage with his adopted son Kikunosuke. The father is really disappointed with Kikunosuke’s lack of stage quality (acting and presence) and is worried that he may not be able to carry on the family name well as an actor. Everyone around Kikunosuke only praises him and no one can tell him the truth to his face, but behind his back everyone talks about how bad his acting is. He overheard people putting down his acting one day and gets very angry. Heading home, he finds Otoku walking about on the street trying to get his baby brother (his father’s blood-related son) to fall asleep in her arms. They head towards home together and Otoku tells Kikunosuke that she thinks his acting skills are lacking. He appreciates that someone was able to tell him the truth, and this is the beginning of their love story.

Even from the scene where we first see Otoku and Kikunosuke interact, Mizoguchi has strategically made an impression of Otoku’s strong personality by taking a long shot. This long shot allows us to see Otoku lead the way home and Kikunosuke follow behind her while she assures him that everything will be alright. Not long after they began to like each other, others who worked in the same house start gossiping about their relationship. Hearing all this gossip, Kikunosuke’s mother feels that firing Otoku is the best thing to do because the reputation of a new actor is really important. This is the turning point for Kikunosuke. He wants to be with Otoku, but in order to get her accepted by the family he has to prove himself worthy as a good kabuki actor. He moves from Tokyo to Osaka to learn acting, hoping to become successful on his own without his father’s help. From this point on, both Kikunosuke and Otoku experience many obstacles until Kikunosuke finally succeeds at acting.

Kikunosuke’s character goes through many stages in this film. First he is a man who just did what his father told him to do, and does not give much thought to how he can improve because he is still young. Otoko makes him realize that he has a long way to go as an actor. He moves to Osaka to learn acting from his uncle but after his uncle passes away, there is no one to back him up. The production crew take his parts and basically tell him he should go do something else. He is forced to be a travelling actor (sort of like a tour) because there is nothing else he ca  do. Although his acting is slowly improving, he starts to feel like he should give up trying to go back to Tokyo. His struggles cause him to be moody and he even yells at Otoku at one point for not giving him spending money. They spend a total of five years in Osaka not knowing when they will go back home to Tokyo. Coincidentally, during the biggest slump of Otoku and Kikunosuke’s life, Fuku-chan (Kikunosuke’s friend) has a play in Nagoya and Otoku goes to beg for help. She asks for a part for Kikunosuke so that he can prove how much he has improved so his father will accept him. From this event we can feel how loving Otoku is.

This film does not only talk about the struggles within a relationship but also the struggles within the individuals themselves. Otoku knows that Kikunosuke’s family will not accept her because she is of a different class status and also because she was working as the nurse/maid for Kikunosuke’s baby brother. Yet she still works hard to support whatever Kikunosuke is set to do because she knows that she is the only mental support that he has. Kikunosuke struggles with not only the troubles at home, but also the slow improvement in his acting, and not even being able to live properly in a house because of the touring. As a man he feels especially bad for having Otoku work (sewing) to earn money.

This movie is not just a sad love story, it also clearly displays some traditional Japanese views of marriage and status. Otoko is a character that touches upon the status of women and how they are treated if they were of lower class. Kikunosuke’s character also displays the results of a hardworking man who puts in the effort to succeed. There are many touching moments in this film so it is a slight tear-jerker. A great story with a great cast. I think this is a movie that everyone should watch.

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