Dansei tai josei

In 1936, Shochiku's studios moved from Kamata to Ofuna. That year Shimazu Yasujiro, one of the more acclaimed directors under contract at Shochiku, directed two films. "Kazoku kaigi" (Family Meeting, 1936) was the better one, a well-focused drama with good performances and no filler. "Dansei tai joisei" was possibly made to celebrate the new studio, and the extravagant length of well over two hours allows the screenplay to lose focus very fast.

This has been categorized as a musical on several sites, but we're not really talking about an Astaire/Rogers kind of happy little crowd-pleaser. Instead, Shimazu emulates the early Warner Brothers musicals, fondly remembered from their Busby Berkeley musical numbers and not from much else. Like those films, there is a revue in this one, and the film is basically a drama set behind the scenes (and to other places, too). This is a talk-heavy film with some business drama and two romances, that are at times interrupted by the dancing. So, as a whole, it brings to mind the Berkeley films. But the dancing itself lacks such choreography. It's not memorable, it's not melodic, it's not interesting, and seems like filler. There were several credited screenwriters and it feels like this was a rushed job on their part, with the studio just demanding a certain type of picture.

Shimazu's better films - I have yet to see a masterwork by him - were all very focused, and brought the individuals depicted close to the audience. "Okayo no kakugo" (Okayo's Preparedness, 1939) is a good example. Unlike his more famous Shochiku namesake Ozu, Shimazu does not shine in loose collective depiction, but works better with clearly crafted story lines. Another reason besides the dancing for this film being so long, is that we have more characters than the film needs, instead of just having one protagonist.

The interesting part of this film was the beginning, set in Shanghai. The film depicts the city to be full of life, a melting pot of different cultures, and a meeting place for Japanese, Chinese, and Europeans. It's full of music and double decker buses drive on the streets. These were interesting images in a 1936 Japanese film, when one considers the tensions that were to rise very soon.

All in all, this film feels the least important of all the ones that I have seen from Shimazu to date.