Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshiaki Onoe, Benkei Shiganoya, Tsukie Matsuura | Written by Kenji Mizoguchi, Yoshikata Yoda | Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
The overarching Buddhist message of Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1952 epic should provide a clue as to the sheer depth of misery our eponymous heroine must endure in her lifetime. Death, and another chance in the next life, seems like her only solace. As Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka) traverses 17th-Century Japan, at every turn events transpire against her, and glimpses of redemption are swiftly consumed by the shadow of despair.
It actually starts off okay. As a young woman, Oharu is spoiled by the romantic ideals of love. “The nobility makes sport of sincerity,” says her admirer, Katsunosoke (Toshiro Mifune), “turning it into mere wordplay.” He breaks through the caste order and wins her heart. But their love is forbidden and their affair begins the snowball of catastrophe.
There is an essential irony in...
The overarching Buddhist message of Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1952 epic should provide a clue as to the sheer depth of misery our eponymous heroine must endure in her lifetime. Death, and another chance in the next life, seems like her only solace. As Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka) traverses 17th-Century Japan, at every turn events transpire against her, and glimpses of redemption are swiftly consumed by the shadow of despair.
It actually starts off okay. As a young woman, Oharu is spoiled by the romantic ideals of love. “The nobility makes sport of sincerity,” says her admirer, Katsunosoke (Toshiro Mifune), “turning it into mere wordplay.” He breaks through the caste order and wins her heart. But their love is forbidden and their affair begins the snowball of catastrophe.
There is an essential irony in...
- 4/24/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
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