Gan

Unspeakably beautiful, delicate and immutable. There is no weakness in the chain of imagery, the power of forces controlling the lives of the characters, painted on the screen like calligraphy. Necessity cages the characters in images as simple as a bird threatened by a snake, to the money lender once janitor to the kept woman generous to her servant to the cruelty of the wagging tongues. Nothing here a traditional American audience demands and receives from Hollywood; only the lucidity of the haiku or bonsai, the migration of the wild geese. Cinematic perfection.

A young woman is forced to reckon with a fate which has made her the mistress of a ruthless moneylender. Another in a long series of long suffering Japanese women caught in unbearable circumstances. Pretty much a common theme in Japanese films of the 50s. What makes this one different is the astonishing fluid, wonderfully composed direction of Toyoda. Someone who I never heard of before seeing The Wild Geese. The use of tight street scenes and forced perspective is extremely effective at creating a sense of time and space. In fact, this movie's technique resembles more the work of a David Lean or William Wyler than any of the major Japanese directors of the period. The score is heartbreaking and stirring. Then there's the acting . Everyone here is magnificent. One minor critique being that the students look a tad old. Hideko Takamine will break your heart in the lead as Otama . And that ending! Enigmatic with a capital "E"!

In late Meiji Japan, a young woman whose reputation had been sullied by being tricked into a false marriage is again deceived, this time into becoming the mistress of a 'widowed owner of a kimono-shop' (Eijiro Tono), only to discover that his is actually a detested money-lender with a living, and resentful, wife. The story is touching and melancholy and Hideko Takamine is outstanding as Otama, a wistful young woman who slowly realises that, as the 'kept woman' of a hated man, she has become a pariah. The rest of cast is excellent (Miki Odagiri is quite funny as Otama's sometimes exuberant maid) and the black-and white cinematography is moody and perfect for the story. Like many Japanese films of the era, cultural transition is a dominant trope. Otama always wears a kimono and keeps her hair in an ornate traditional style, while her 'master' frequently wears Western-style business attire, and the young medical student (Hiroshi Akutagawa) that Otama becomes infatuated with, dreams of travelling to Europe to train as a doctor. Tranquil, sad, and beautiful. Best watched on a quiet evening with a nice bottle of saké. *watched as 'The Wild Geese' with English sub-titles.

Hideko Takamine agrees to become the mistress of Eijirô Tôno. She was married, but the man turned out to have a wife and child, causing her and her poor father, a candy seller...well, problems. Tôno is, they believe, the widowed owner of a kimono shop with children, so it will be some time before she can be brought into his household as his wife. He is kind and indulgent of her. He is not, however, it turns out as advertised. His wife is very much alive and he is a money lender, despised by everyone when they are not trying to borrow money, and always hated by his debtors who cannot pay his usurious rates.

He is desperately in love with Miss Takamine. She likes him, but as she gradually learns the truth about him, she comes to despise him and herself. She takes refuge in a wished-for love of Hiroshi Akutagawa, a handsome medical student who killed a snake trying to eat her caged pet bird. He is focused on his studies and hopes to pass a test that will send him off to faraway Europe with a decent stipend.

Shirô Toyoda directs this fine adaptation of the hard life of poor Miss Takamine, from a novel by Ogai Mori. Toyoda was one of the many talented Japanese directors of the era. He directed his first movie in 1929, the last of almost 70 in 1976. He was best regarded for his literary adaptations like this one.

There are no clear villains in this movie. Everyone is trapped into the role that circumstances and economics dictates. They all long be free, but which of them will escape, like the wild geese that still flew over Tokyo in the time this movie is set?

The flow of films showing the hard lives of women, and the position they are put in, were at their height in 1950s Japan, and this is without a doubt a standout. Hideko Takamine and character actor Eijirô Tôno are stunning as the kept and the keeper. She, accepting the role of mistress, he, the hated moneylender, barely keeping the illusions which made her accept.

Toyoda's direction is strong, and almost fearless. At times he goes even darker and deeper than most peers, leaving us to study "Otama", and see her self respect slowly fade away. The films only flaw is it's occasional lack of subtlety where it feels like the characters just "had to" voice what we should (and usually already are) feeling - but these occasions are luckily rare. I might also have enjoyed it even more without the introduction of a slight sense of hope, but it's harshness and melancholy is still very much there, in almost every moment.

In fact there is at most time a sense of crassness, especially when Tôno is on the screen. Each gesture, each act, each line. You can genuinely feel why he is despised by the people around him, and this without him ever being overtly cruel, something he brilliantly would be the first to point out.

Toyoda had a brilliant eye for detail, and managed to do things they sometimes even had a hard time doing, such as letting every single character, no matter how small, shine in their own way, and be truly worth remembering. Even more incredibly, no one steals the spotlight away from Otame. Each event, each character, they all reflect upon her story, and often adds a further layer to her prison.