Mizoguchi and the tragedy of women

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.