Ojôsan kanpai

"Ojôsan kanpai" (Here's to the Lady, 1949) is a lighter turn from director Kinoshita Keisuke: a post-war romance narrative starring popular Shochiku stars Sano Shuji and Hara Setsuko. I like the fact that Kinoshita chose to lighten the mood a little bit, since his didactic melodramas "Kekkon" (Marriage, 1947) and "Fushicho" (Phoenix, 1947) didn't really do that much for me. "Here's to the Lady" however turns out to be a very loose film, that tries to be many different things, only succeeding in some. It's a comedy and also a kind of musical, but it also has some dramatic weight, and works as a time capsule as well. It is particularly interesting because of the presence of Hara Setsuko, and the fact that the star did the film the same year as "Banshun" (Late Spring, 1949), her first collaboration with Ozu.

For "Here's to the Lady" is also a narrative about (sort of) arranged marriage, but it focuses less on the family relationships and more on the courtship and class differences. Sano is working class, and owns a car repair shop. Hara is a daughter of a formerly aristocratic family. Sakemoto Takeshi urges the two to meet, and they start dating, but soon troubles find their way to paradise.

I personally think the film should have focused more heavily on the dating, and the comedic elements. Because of the musical interludes, the drama doesn't feel all that important, but it manages to make the film very uneven. There are good moments, and the Shochiku cast is very good, Hara in particular. Yet because of the tone, I found it difficult to invest myself in these characters, even without any comparisons to "Late Spring".

In the end, the film is okay, certainly it's very harmless, but Kinoshita would truly start blossoming in the 1950's.

The postwar democratization of Japan was supposed to make everyone equal. But the stigma of nobility and merchant class remained. So when car shop owner Keizo begins dating Yasuko, the daughter of former nobility, many complications ensue. Today this film comes across as just another match of opposites, and a not-particularly interesting one at that. But at that time it was major. This topic was dealt with more dramatically in Anjo-ke no Butokai (Ball at the Anjo's House) two years earlier. Here it becomes a comedy of manners. A very quiet comedy. As such, it may be hard to sit through for those expecting clever wit or humorous situations. Every gesture is very subtle: the touch of a glove in place of a hand, the foaming remains of a beer in a glass in the climactic scene. I liked the interaction between the two. Hara, as usual, is magnificent, playing shy and demure with traces of shock and amusement. Sano flicks between sullenness and earnestness, showing his charm and anger in equal measures. Kinoshita does a fine job directing this film, showing a postwar Tokyo where one could freely drive or ride a motorbike on the streets. But overall, it's hard to recommend this to anyone other than fans of the director or Setsuko Hara.

Gentle marriage comedy from Kinoshita. Shuji Sano is a 34 year old man, a successful businessman but pretty unsophisticated. His friend introduces him to a potential bride in Setsuko Hara. At first she seems perfect, but as their courtship continues, Sano discovers there are some catches: her family is broke, so marrying a rich man might solve their problems. Hara's father is in prison. Also, Hara was engaged to a man who died a year and a half ago. In her own words, she used all her love and affection up on him. At first I was a little disappointed in how it ended. It seemed a little abrupt. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Overall, a pretty good little film.

"I used up all my love and affection on that man. The fire inside my heart is gone now. What remains is only some smoke of sadness. That's who I am."

A 34-year-old, somewhat awkward manager of an auto repair shop (Shuji Sano) is urged by his friend to marry a beautiful young woman (Setsuko Hara). The man fears he comes from a lower class and isn't worthy of her, since they come from different worlds. She likes ballet, he likes boxing; she likes Chopin, he likes the folk song of his hometown. However, there are other issues that complicate things considerably: it turns out that her family has lost their fortune and need an influx of money, and also that she was once engaged to a man she truly loved, but who died shortly after the war. The man is wild for her, but senses her aloofness and doesn't like the idea of marrying a woman who doesn't truly love him.

The film thus involves peeling back the layers of possible motivations in a relationship to arrive at what's honest, the process of which was something I loved. The story is simple and maybe a little melodramatic, but the scenes which explored the couple's feelings towards each other are wonderful, in no small part due to Setsuko Hara, who is so expressive here. The performances across the board are strong too, including Sano, Fusaka Fujima (the woman's grandmother), and Sachiko Murase (the owner of the bar, and the man's friend). In a couple of fine scenes, the latter two somewhat unintentionally channel feelings from both sides of the relationship in ways that are blunt, the grandmother because she's starting to lose her faculties, and the bar owner because she's been drinking. It's Setsuko Hara who is the true star here though, elevating the film every time she's on the screen. Kinoshita doesn't give us a masterpiece here, but between the film's playfulness, its cast, and the feelings it touches on, it was an enjoyable watch.

I'm a tad more positive about this film than my five IMDB colleagues below. While director Keisuke Kinoshita's pacing is undeniably on the somnolent side (i.e. I'd have nixed the subplot about the brother and his bride to be) and a lot of the humor seems forced I found myself drawn into this very gentle examination of Japanese class conflict through the medium of a rom com. Maybe it's the warmth of Setsuko Hara (whose smile is right up there with Audrey Hepburn's, in my personal smile valhalla) or the lovely, poignant theme, or the wonderfully subtle depiction of an aristocratic family in economic, if not moral, decline, but this is one I'd like to see again. Give it a B plus. PS...Dumb Eng. Title. Sounds like a tribute to one's favorite hooker.