Jeunes filles japonaises sur le port

Although the movie was made in 1933, the visuals are shockingly contemporary. In some ways the streets are cleaner and in better order than the streets of present day Yokohama. Aren't we supposed to be evolving ? I don't see any sign of that in terms of beauty of the city and the behavior of the people in this movie.

I don't know much about the film's director, but I understand that he's supposed to be one of the greats of early Japanese cinema. I can see that. There's sharpness, and vivid quality to every scene. It's almost breath taking.

Some things changes while others remain timeless. I got to reevaluate my life's value after watching this movie. So many things that I thought were important now looks silly. The people in this movie have already lived it.

Great movie to put your life into perspective, and behold at how advanced it was in 1933. With a little change in clothing and furniture, it's exactly like the life we live today.

The director of this movie had an impeccable taste.

This story involves two girls, Dora and Sunako, who are best friends in Yokohama. They vow never to separate, but along enters a man (with the Western name Henry). Sunako goes for him, but he's a bad guy, a gangster and a philanderer. She eventually catches him with another woman, and does something rash. In her shame, Sunako runs away only to become a geisha. Later she meets up with Dora and Henry again, now married to each other and feeling guilty for what became of Sunako. Japanese Girls at the Harbor is often a very pretty film, but I sometimes found it to be poorly made. The first half is especially confusing with Shimizu's gimmicky editing. And the transition between the big event of the first half and the second half of the film is never quite clear. I had initially thought I was confused because I watched it tired, but I watched most of the first half over again and still found it hard to put together. Plus, whenever characters who aren't one of the main three enter the film, it's always hard to understand who they are. The second half of the film is much stronger than the first, but I would still complain that Henry and Dora are never especially interesting characters. My attention was focused entirely on Sunako, and I found it hard to concentrate when she wasn't around. This is the earliest film in the Eclipse Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu box set (and the only silent film), and I've read at least one review of the set that claims that it's the weakest. Looking at the better aspects of the film, it's clear that Shimizu is a talented director. I'm confident that the other films will be better. I definitely do not recommend starting with this film if you're just renting them. Skip it all together, or at least come back to it later.

Underwhelming character development. Sometimes confusing, as characters are introduced almost haphazardly. Good example for how ellipses are used ineffectively; causing more confusion than necessary. It seems that intertitles were used when not necessary to tell rather than show ("Read her diary to find out"), where other times where it actually would have cleared some things up for the audience (huge gaps in time with no explanation, such as why suddenly Dora is now married and pregnant with Henry), Shimizu inexplicably chooses not to show or tell anything.

Nevertheless, gorgeously captured with seaside landscapes and creative cinematography and shot choices. The piano soundtrack had mixed results, at times an unwelcome distraction, however melodious on its own. Overall decent story, but for the aforementioned reasons, the execution was lacking.

Director Shimizu's later works are far superior. Audience members should give those a chance before this one, lest they be left with an impression unbefitting to this highly talented and prolific master.

Hiroshi Shimizu is not a name that springs instantly to mind when one thinks of Japanese film directors. Although Shimizu was a contemporary of Yasujiro Ozu, both having worked at Shochiku Studios, it is Ozu whose body of work is the better known. While not for one moment does this take away from Ozu's reputation as a great film director, it does not mean that Shimizu was not also a director of equal stature. Ozu said: "I can't shoot films like Shimizu." And the great Kenji Mizoguchi once said: "People like me and Ozu get films made by hard work, but Shimizu is a genius" Shimizu made some sublime films in a career that spanned the years 1924 to 1959. A four-disc box set of Shimizu's films is now available. Films included are "Mr. Thank You", "Ornamental Hairpin", "The Masseurs and a Woman" and "Japanese Girls at The Harbour", all with English subtitles. A few days ago I watched Shimizu's 1933 silent film, "Japanese Girls at The Harbour." Set in the port city of Yokohama, two girls, Sunako and Dora who attend a Christian school, pledge to be friends. But when a youth named Henry appears on his motorcycle and offers to take Sunako for a ride, we know that this friendship won't last and that the lives of both girls will change in ways they are barely able to comprehend, and can do little to change. "Japanese Girls at The Harbour." is a microcosm, a snapshot if you will, of Japanese society of the early 1930s, at a time when the old way of life in Japan was about to crumble before the more tempting, faster-paced life of the West. It is clear from this collection that Hiroshi Shimizu was the equal of, if not as good as, Japanese directors like Ozu and Mizoguchi in holding up a bright shining mirror to the minutiae of Japanese life.

I just watched this film and it is brilliant. The story is about two schoolgirls, Sunako (an amazing Michiko Oikawa) and Dora (Yukiko Inoue) who both like Henry, who drives a motorcycle. He spends time with Sunako, but then its found out Henry has been spending time with the somewhat vampish Yoko. Sunako confronts him, then her and violence is the result. Sunako flees and becomes a prostitute, while Dora marries Henry. Sunako comes back to Yokohama and meets her former friends Dora and Henry, and wants to get out of the world she has made for herself. This film is completely silent, no music track. It is available with English subtitles, being part of a recent domestic release by Criterion films. This film has elements of lust, love, betrayal, hopelessness and regret. It lasts almost 72 minutes, but for me it could have gone on for another forty minutes and I wouldn't have minded. The relationships of the characters are simply told and rather than many fade outs which the director Mr. Shimizu used in "Masseurs And The Woman" he favors tight editing here, with little camera tricks. The story may be simply told but it is fascinating. Michiko Oikawa is so good as Sunako, her expressions are perfect and how you feel about her changes often. I don't find it difficult to follow at all. It has elements of Kenji Mizoguchi's style, but it really is a great film. Buy the box set, even for just this film, though I liked the others in the set. In my opinion, this is the best one in the set and with so many films from Japan criminally lost, this is a grateful find. It really moved me.