Available on YouTube
Osaka Elegy (浪華悲歌, Naniwa erejī) is a 1936 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It stars Isuzu Yamada as Ayako Murai, a switchboard operator who becomes the mistress of her boss, Mr. Asai, in order to support her family. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it established Mizoguchi as a major filmmaker.
Ayako is switchboard operator who lives with her father, a scoundrel who has embezzled money from his company. To save her father from going to prison, Ayako becomes the mistress of her boss, Mr. Asai. She also sends money to her brother, Hiroshi, to paying his tuition.
Ayako's life becomes increasingly difficult as she tries to balance her responsibilities to her family with her own desires. She is constantly worried about her father, who is always getting into trouble. She is also in love with a man named Nishimura, but she knows that she can never marry him because she is a mistress.
Osaka Elegy is a powerful and moving film about the sacrifices that women make for their families. It is a film that is still relevant today, as women continue to struggle to balance their work and family lives.
As a history lesson it gives us a glimpse into life in Japan in the 1930s
"Kenji Mizoguchi (溝口 健二, Mizoguchi Kenji, 16 May 1898 – 24 August 1956) was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu (1952), Ugetsu (1953), and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), with the latter three all being awarded at the Venice International Film Festival. A recurring theme of his films was the oppression of women in historical and contemporary Japan." From Bard
I hope to post upon at least the four films mentioned above.
1 comment:
An age-old story of sacrifice. But I think I would like this one too.
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