Mizoguchi and the tragedy of women

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): The Japanese, traditionally known as chauvinistic, have a film director who was very interested in the struggle of women, Kenji Mizoguchi (1898-1956).

His films will be shown for a week at Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center, starting July 19. The audience will be able to determine how Mizoguchi differs from the other two featured Japanese directors, Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, especially in the choice of theme.

Mizoguchi mostly concentrated on "the tragedy of women, who are victimized in man's world ... but (the women) are man's savior," said Kenji Iwamoto, a film critic.

Women seem to relate well to Mizoguchi's films, commented Ritsuko Takahata, an assistant director of the Japanese Cultural Center.

"The films which feature traditional Japanese women originate from Japanese legends. The characters look different to me. They might dress in kimonos, but they look like persons beside me," said Takahata.

"On the other hand, I can understand the women in his films about contemporary society. Though they were made before I was born, during my mother's lifetime, I feel close to them and understand their experience," she added.

Director of the center, Ikuo Nishida, said he hopes the problems presented in the films are not exclusively Japanese, but that Indonesians can relate and understand them as well.

The festival concentrates on Mizoguchi's works between the years 1936 and 1956. The opportunity to watch Mizoguchi's films is rare, even for the Japanese.

"In Japan, if we want to see Mizoguchi's films, we must go to film libraries," said Takahata.

The festival will show six of Mizoguchi's films. They are: Naniwa Ereji (Osaka Elegy), Gion no Shimai (Sisters of Gion), Saikaku Ichidai Onna (The Life of Oharu), Ugetsu Monogatari (The Ugetsu Story), Sansho Dayu (Sansho the Bailiff) and Akasen Chitai (Street of Shame).

They represent different periods of his work. Osaka Elegy and Sisters of Gion are his best pre-World War II pieces. The Life of Oharu, The Ugetsu Story and Sansho the Bailiff are films based on history and won awards at the Venice International Film Festival. Street of Shame is Mizoguchi's last work.

Synopsis

Osaka Elegy (1936) is about a woman, called Ayako, who is totally in love with Susumu. Her sacrifices for her man brings her problems and she is even cast out by her family.

Sisters of Gion (1936) tells of two geishas, named Umekichi, who is naive and loyal, and Omocha, who is manipulative and opportunist. The two characters reflect on the bitter and hard human relationship within the "entertainment" business.

The Life of Oharu (1952) is Mizoguchi's adaptation of Ihara Saikaku's novel, Koshoku Ichidai Onna (The Life of a Sensual Woman), and won the 1952 International Prize in Venice. The film criticizes male chauvinism during Japan's feudalistic time through a flashback of Oharu's life.

Mizoguchi combined two of Akira Ueda's novels into The Ugetsu Story (1953). The film won the 1953 Silver Lion Prize. It features two men who leave their wives because of their obsession for pleasure and comfort. As a result, the husbands enter a mysterious world of ghosts.

Sansho the Bailiff (1954), which achieved the fourth rank in the 1954 Venice Film Festival, is adapted from Ogai Mori's novel based on the Japanese folktale Anju and Zushio. The film is about the hardship of an aristocrat woman and her two children. They are separated and must endure the horrors of slavery during the Japanese medieval period.

Street of Shame (1956) reflects on the life of five prostitutes shortly before the Anti-Prostitution Law was enacted in 1956. Here, Mizoguchi shows how the women take revenge on men.

Comparisons

Besides the six Mizoguchi's films, the festival will also run two separate works by two other directors. They are Tabi no Omosa (Journey into Solitude) by Koichi Saito and Fancy Dance by Masayuki Suo.

The purpose in showing Saito and Suo's pieces is to compare them with Mizoguchi's works, Nishida said.

Journey into Solitude (1972) is about a 16-year-old girl who ran away from home. The girl's experience on the street makes her more mature in the end.

Fancy Dance (1990) is about a city youth who has to leave worldly desires behind to become a Buddhist priest in a Zen temple.

Although Mizoguchi influenced neither Saito nor Suo, he had a great impact on other Japanese directors, such as Kaneto Shindo and Yasuzo Masumura, Iwamoto commented.

Mizoguchi's love of the "long take" camera technique has affected some European directors as well, such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Jean-Luc Godard, F. Truffaut and Jacques Rivette.

For three days following the festival there will be lectures and discussions led by Iwamoto, a professor at Waseda University, Japan. On the first day, July 26, Iwamoto will discuss Mizoguchi's works while Japanese film education will be the topic on the second day. The last day will be devoted to Japanese film history, Takahata said.

This festival is a cooperative effort between the Japanese Cultural Center, the Japan Foundation, with the Kine Klub, the Jakarta Arts Council and the Jakarta Arts Center, Taman Ismail Marzuki.

There will be no admission charge and tickets can be picked up at Taman Ismail Marzuki or the Japanese Cultural Center, Jakarta.