Osaka Elegy
Encyclopedia
is a 1936
Japanese film
directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
. Mizoguchi considered the film his first serious effort as a director, and it was also his first commercial and critical success in Japan. Osaka Elegy is often considered a companion piece to Mizoguchi's next film, Sisters of the Gion
, which was released the same year and featured much the same cast and crew.
) is a young woman working as a telephone operator in 1930's Osaka. In order to pay the debts of her father, unemployed and threatened with arrest after embezzling ¥
300, she agrees to become the mistress of her employer Mr. Asai. After paying her father's debts she then continues working as a mistress, this time for another workplace admirer, Mr Fujino, in an attempt to help pay her brother Hiroshi's university tuition fees. When she attempts to fool Mr Fujino into giving her extra money, so she can marry her boyfriend Nishimura, he calls the police and she is arrested for soliciting. Upon her return home she is ostracised by her family and her boyfriend and forced to leave home.
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
Japanese film
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
. Mizoguchi considered the film his first serious effort as a director, and it was also his first commercial and critical success in Japan. Osaka Elegy is often considered a companion piece to Mizoguchi's next film, Sisters of the Gion
Sisters of the Gion
is a 1936 black and white Japanese film drama directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.The film is based on the novel Yama by Aleksandr Kuprin....
, which was released the same year and featured much the same cast and crew.
Plot
Ayako Murai (Isuzu YamadaIsuzu Yamada
is a Japanese actress on stage and screen whose career has spanned eight decades.-Career:Yamada was born in Osaka with the name Mitsu Yamada. Her father, Kusuo Yamada, was a shinpa stage actor specializing in onnagata roles and her mother, Ritsu, was a geisha...
) is a young woman working as a telephone operator in 1930's Osaka. In order to pay the debts of her father, unemployed and threatened with arrest after embezzling ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
300, she agrees to become the mistress of her employer Mr. Asai. After paying her father's debts she then continues working as a mistress, this time for another workplace admirer, Mr Fujino, in an attempt to help pay her brother Hiroshi's university tuition fees. When she attempts to fool Mr Fujino into giving her extra money, so she can marry her boyfriend Nishimura, he calls the police and she is arrested for soliciting. Upon her return home she is ostracised by her family and her boyfriend and forced to leave home.
Cast of Characters
- Ayako Murai... Isuzu YamadaIsuzu Yamadais a Japanese actress on stage and screen whose career has spanned eight decades.-Career:Yamada was born in Osaka with the name Mitsu Yamada. Her father, Kusuo Yamada, was a shinpa stage actor specializing in onnagata roles and her mother, Ritsu, was a geisha...
- Sumiko Asai... Yoko Umemura
- Sachiko Urai... Chiyako Okura
- Hiroshi Murai... Shinpachiro Asaka
- Sonosuke Asai... Benkei Shiganoya
- Yoshizo Fujino... Eitaro Shindo
- Dr. Yoko... Kunio Tamura
- Junzo Murai... Seiichii Takekawa
- Nishimura... Kensaku Hara
- Inspector... Takashi ShimuraTakashi Shimurawas a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....