Now before I talk about this specific movie I'm going to talk about the golden age of Japanese cinema first. Being a Japanese minor I know a thing or two about Japanese culture and amongst my Japanese Women Writers class in my last semester I became known as the expert in Japanese films because I have seen A LOT so this is something I'm really passionate about.First of all, it seems every country has an era usually earlier on in the beginning of film history that is viewed as their golden era:
Germany was one of the first making some of the country's most praised films in the 20s and 30s with such directors as F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Pabst, and even Leni Riefenstahl and probably starting with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1919.
Hollywood's golden age ranges from the 20s to the early 60s (probably the reason for the time constraints in this blog) and pretty much started with The Jazz Singer in 1927.
I know less about the cinemas of France and Italy but Italy appeared to be really big from the 40s to the 60s with their neorealism movement and directors ranging from De Sica to Fellini. France seemed in its prime in the 50s and 60s during the French New Wave. In the UK there was also the British New Wave around this time period.
The film industries in other countries aren't as often seen as having times of greatness as those above so much as they are seen as having a few really profound directors or films that are appreciated internationally. I think Sweden was really notable in the 50s as well and I know China had a big boom rather recently in the 90s and early 00s but I'm not really knowledgeable enough to comment.
Japan, like most of the countries mentioned above, produced most of its classic films in the 50s and 60s, probably starting around No Regrets For Our Youth by Akira Kurosawa in 1946 right after the end of WW2. During this time there were three really great directors: Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, and Kenji Mizoguchi.
Kurosawa is easily the most well known Japanese director internationally and in his homeland his name is occasionally written in katakana, the writing system used for foreign names, to represent how his "Western" style of film-making. I have yet to find out for sure if this is a compliment, an insult, or simply a commentary.
Some of Kurosawa's biggest films were his period films including The Seven Samurai [1954], Yojimbo [1961], Ran [1985], and Rashomon [1950] (one of my personal favorites) but he has made many modern films as well.
Kurosawa takes a lot of influence from Western works by Shakespeare (Throne of Blood [1957] is Macbeth) and Tolstoy and actually made films up until his death in the 90s. Many of his films have also had Western adaptions (Fistful of Dollars is a direct remake of Yojimbo that was not made with any sort of permission).
Also of note is that Kurosawa often worked with the famous actor Toshiro Mifune (who I will profess my love for at another time) and they pretty much had a Burton/Depp kind of relationship going on. He also worked a lot with Takashi Shimura.
If you have never seen a Kurosawa film, go watch one. He's made tons.
Ozu is probably the second most well known and his claim to fame involves making movies about the modern family with themes such as trying to marry off your daughter or how a family structure holds together in the modern world. He established what is known as the "Tatami shot" a camera angle perfectly in line with someone sitting on a tatami mat, looking directly into the camera.
His most famous films are probably Tokyo Story [1953], Late Spring [1949], and An Autumn Afternoon [1962].
One of the main things I remember hearing about him was when asked by actress Haruko Sugimura what her motivation was for a scene he pretty much replied with, "The paycheck you'll be getting." He also liked the sauce and people leave bottles of alcohol on his grave.
Like Kurosawa, Ozu had an actor he was rather attached to who ended up in a lot of his films, Setsuko Hara, who is generally seen as the actress who represents the golden era of Japanese cinema and bares the nickname "The Eternal Virgin" as she often played unmarried women and herself never married. She appeared in two of the films I listed above and often ended up playing characters named Noriko for some odd reason. After Ozu died, Hara stopped acting and became something of a recluse. She's actually still alive at 91 and in 2001 the animated film Millennium Actress by Satoshi Kon (R.I.P.) was loosely based on her.
Mizoguchi, who directed this film, is most famous for his long takes, scene composition, and the fact that he was seen as a feminist director even though you might not see the feminism in his films nowadays. I always say that the woman in a Mizoguchi film will always end up a prostitute by the end which is usually true.
Some of Mizoguchi's most famous films include Ugetsu [1953], Sansho The Bailiff [1954], and The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums [1939]. Like Kurosawa, he is most famous for his period films.
Although I would not necessarily say that Mizoguchi had a special actor like Kurosawa and Ozu, the lead actress in this film, Kinuyo Tanaka, does appear in many of his films.
Now, with what I have said in mind about unhappy, prostitute-y endings, let's start Life of Oharu, the story of a woman who nothing ever goes right for.
I'm not gonna lie. I probably chose to do this movie because lately, I've been seriously feeling like Oharu.
The title card that appears to be on a fan.
Our movie starts with a woman wandering around with her face shielded slightly by a piece of cloth. It should be safe to assume this is Oharu.
She meets her friends and they all joke about how difficult it is to find clients (johns) when you are old. Prostitution from the get go!
They all huddle around a fire and one of the prostitutes asks Oharu how she ended up as a prostitute but she is dismissive.
After their party is broken up, Oharu wanders into a temple with an assload of Buddhas. They judge her silently.
Suddenly one of the Buddhas is attacked by a superimposition of Toshiro Mifune with a topknot and Oharu is pleased.
OMG, this movie takes place in JAPAN? I had no idea.
We are now in flashback mode.
A younger Oharu meets with a man who asks why she has not written a poem back to one of her potential suitors who has written to her. For a while in Japan, writing haiku back and forth and being able to write good verse was a big deal as it was pretty much the method of flirting.
Oharu is stated to be the daughter of an imperial guard which gives her a decent station.
Note the man in the plaid.
Plaidy goes to catch her paladin before she leaves and asks her to meet his master at a certain place and time. Since the servant didn't actually talk to his master before telling her this, it's clear the master does not know this.
The servant goes to her and asks her why she didn't return his poem saying that although his verse is unrefined, his intentions are pure. At first, Oharu is reluctant, claiming she tore up his letter without reading it and telling him to leave her alone.
He's a little persistent.
For the reference, this kind of role is really not common for Mifune. Usually he plays really wild characters who's goal is kicking ass to help people. Even when he is playing this love-struck servant, his energy level is still through the roof.
Also, it's weird to see him with a topknot because usually he's in either a modern film or a Muromachi or Heian era film where they aren't necessary. And because no matter how many topknots I see, they will always look awkward.
Oharu then admits that she did read the letter and that she reciprocates the feelings but that they can't be together because of their different stations.
Then she collapses. You will realize soon that this is kind of her thing.
Oh snap. They are caught together.
At least their robes were on. Oh, scandal!
Oharu is tried for wanton behavior with a servant and banished along with her parents for "not supervising her well."
This is awful to say I know but is it just me or are Oharu and her mother the same age?
They start living in a fairly good sized shack in the woods. Her father rubs salt in the wounds. His main function in this story is to be kind of a jerk.
Mifune (his character name is too long; something like Kananosuke) doesn't get off so easily. Before he is decapitated he leaves a letter for Oharu about how he wishes that she will live a happy life and get married to a man she loves.
Bye, Mifune. Now go make some more Kurosawa films where you're a badass.
Oharu gets Mifune's letter and proceeds to run into the woods saying she wants to die. Her mom talks her out of it and she falls over in grief. Again.
An old messenger of the daimyo (essentially a lord in the Edo-period) comes into town seeking a concubine for him. He couldn't find one around where the Lord lives so he came to Kyo because he heard they have beautiful women there.
The Lord has an insane list of physical details that the women most possess including but not limited to, "not small eyes, thick eyebrows, small mouth and feet, long torso, white teeth, etc." He also has an actual drawing. Apparently the love of 2-dimensional ideals in Japan has been around for a while. [/I'mgoingtohell]
I don't know if you can really tell in this picture but that old guy is wearing glasses circa 1686. Awesome.
Let's go a-whore hunting!
Shit. All defective.
Around the corner from where the messenger is staying there is a man who gives dancing and music lessons to girls from respectable families.
Note those two guys leering through the laundry. Leering at girls is kind of a thing in ancient Japan (and current [/didImentionI'mgoingtohell?].
Seeing Oharu, they pull her out of the lesson and declare her to be exactly what the Lord wants.
It looks kind of like the messenger is trying to glomp her in this shot.
Oharu's parents try to talk her into going as becoming a concubine will make her a court lady and will actually be a step up in the world. Oharu doesn't want to sleep with a man she has never met because she is reasonable.
She gets a medical examination that shows she will be good for making babies.
Is it just me or do those screens seem to not be serving much of a purpose since everyone in the room is in there and there doesn't appear to be much more to the room?
Oharu meets the damiyo's wife and is very embarrassed by her new position.
Living in this time would have sucked for one solid reason: hair that long would be a pain in the ass.
Here. Have a symbolic puppet play.
NOT AT ALL TENSE.
Oharu gives birth. This should secure her position as a court lady indefinitely.
Right away her baby is taken away from her and she is not allowed to feed him.
So she falls over in sadness. Again.
I wish I could say there was some big cultural significance to all this falling over thing but there really isn't. I have never seen a movie with this much falling over.
I'm pretty sure this isn't how it's usually done.
Her dad is not pleased with what happened.
And to add insult to injury, he sent her away with virtually no compensation.
Her dad, thinking that she would make him tons of money as a concubine, did not prepare for this contingency.
He decides that Oharu should go to Shimabara and become a prostitute there and make the money to pay off the loan.
Potential Father of the Year candidate?
While there a man comes in with tons of money that he literally throws around for fun. He may as well be shouting, "Dance! Dance!" as they crawl around on the floor.
When Oharu doesn't scramble around on the floor picking up the coins they ask her why not. She says that she will not lower herself to such behavior and walks out only to have one of her bosses scold her for being so rude.
When he threatens to throw her out and thus, prevent her from finding work elsewhere, she grovels.
The tides change quickly when they learn that the rich dude wants to purchase her and they beg her to go with him.
Before anything happens, the police show up and arrest the rich man for forgery.
Check out the awesome scene composition here.
Oharu goes back to her family again and while walking around outside she encounters a woman on the street playing a shamisen and singing a song that presumably would mostly be known by the upper class. Surprised that she knows the song, she gives her money and talks to the woman, finding out she used to be a courtesan as well.
Foreshadowing much?
Oharu then gets a job working as a maid/assistant type thing to another family. The wife tells her that her main job will be doing her hair. Before she starts the wife makes her sign a document of secrecy which Oharu does without questioning it.
It's a trap!
The secret turns out to be that after an illness the wife lost a lot of hair so she needs Oharu to style it to cover up her baldness so her husband will still be attracted to her.
Bad touch, other servant.
A man visiting the husband recognizes Oharu from Shimabara which is a problem because apparently she left her brief stint as a whore off her resume.
When the wife hears about it she is convinced that her husband purchased her to be a whore as well and gets mad at her . . .
. . . and cuts off her hair in a fit of rage. Clearly this woman has a complex.
To get revenge, Oharu sends a cat to steal the fake hair off the wife's head. That is one smart puppet cat.
After being fired, Oharu ends up working at a fan shop and marrying the owner. They look happy don't they? If you think this will work out, you have terrible pattern recognition skills.
Yep.
Oharu gets a new life plan.
When a loan collector demands her unpaid-for robes back, she goes to strip them off behind a screen and he attacks her. The nun walks in at the wrong time and kicks her out of the nunnery.
She runs into a guy who used to work for her dad, I think, who also has no where else to go so they run away together.
He gets carted off for reasons I seriously don't know because at this point the movie is on speed and Oharu takes up street shamisen playing. Foreshadowing was right.
Looking sick, she is taken in by two women who turn out to be prostitutes, but not the kind who live in a big house together with a pimp and stuff, the regular street walking kind.
And we have come full circle. But if you think her story is over, you are very wrong.
She ends up getting purchased by a man who is leading a group on a pilgrimage (monks, perhaps?). The man doesn't want to have sex with her however, she just wants to make an example of her to the men by insulting her and making them all look at her painted face that is trying so hard to hide her age.
Also, goblin cat is an awesome insult. I need to try that one.
Back in the temple the other girls all try to see faces of people they know in the Buddhas with great amusement and positive attitudes.
Oharu falls over again. This time it's actually a physical illness and not just the melodrama bug.
Seemingly on her death bed her mom comes to visit, saying that her father is dead but that he never forgot her.
She also informs her that her son, the son of the daimyo, wants to meet his mother and reinstate her as a court lady.
When she gets there, however, they find out about her past as a street walker and a Shimabara prostitute and tell her that she cannot live there.
She tries to catch her son's attention but his guards won't let her get near him.
So she becomes a beggar woman.
Is the moral of this story don't fall in love?
So this movie is really depressing, probably the most depressing of Mizoguchi's films and very fast-paced but it is rather interesting. However, I would sooner recommend one of the other Mizoguchi films I mentioned in this article because they are less . . . slit-your-wrist-y.
For the most part.
