I've been spacing these posts a little too far apart, and letting them pile up. So, I'm devoting a full week to new installments of my "Great Directors" series. Enjoy.
Of the major Japanese directors, Mikio Naruse is one of the least well known in the west, though he operated at the same time, and used many of the same actors as the more famous luminaries like Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu. Naruse's films were almost all contemporary dramas about the lives of ordinary people. They examined various social ills, and the transition of Japan into the modern age. He took a special interest in the struggles of women, who were often caught between traditional Japanese values and the demands of modern society.
"Late Chrysanthemums" stars Haruko Sugimura, a familiar face from countless Ozu films where she usually played a gossipy neighbor or relative. Here, she has a rare leading role as O-Kin, a former geisha and businesswoman. She spends most of her time in the film collecting debts and interacting with other former geisha, who all owe her money. Everyone we meet is struggling in the post-war era to get along and make ends meet. The film is low on incident, but does a good job of capturing little moments of heartbreak and melodrama. O-Kin and her friends are long past their prime, their glory days far behind them. They have few options in a Japanese society that is still terribly restrictive to women, especially to disreputable figures like former geisha. Happiness seems as elusive as financial security. At one point, the return of an old client seems to bring some hope, but alas, his arrival only leads to disappointment.
The harsh realities of women in middle age would seem to make for a depressing film. However, the actresses are so personable, and each of their personal tragedies is so deftly drawn, the narrative easily drew me in. It helps that the retired geisha are initially introduced as broader comic types - the miser, the nagging wife, and the dissatisfied mother - before we get to know them better and learn how fraught their lives really are. Our heroines suffer from illnesses, addictions, poverty, social repression, and persistent loneliness. Only one managed to get married to a dependable man, and the ones who had children find no joy in them. The womens' friendships bring them some comfort, giving them a chance to reminisce over the good times and commiserate. However, there are limits, especially in the case of O-Kin, whose relationships are all compromised by her status as a moneylender. Initially she seems like the luckiest and most well-off of the ex-geisha, thanks to her shrewdness, but her success has come at a price.
"Late Chrysanthemums" is based on a collection of three short stories by feminist writer Fumiko Hayashi, whose work was adapted by Naruse for several films. Their work had similar aims - depicting the darker side of urban Japanese life with as much realism as possible. Unhappy marriages, disrupted families, and economic instability characterized most of their projects, in stark contrast to the more romanticized views of their more celebrated contemporaries. Naruse's later films grew more and more tragic, and his worldview more pessimistic, but most of them ended with the heroines bravely picking themselves up and carrying on. In "Late Chrysanthemums," change is inevitable, and all four of the women have to take responsibility for themselves.
Naruse's filmmaking style is simple and unfussy, and has been praised for its subtlety and sensitivity. Everything he did was to help emphasize the dramatic weight of his stories, down to the smallest details of the set designs and shot compositions. What is so striking about "Late Chrysanthemums" is that it appears so ordinary. Like it's unglamorous lead actress, the film's depicted tragedies are commonplace and easily overlooked, which makes its unusual poignancy all the more remarkable.
What I've Seen - Mikio Naruse
Repast (1951)
Mother (1952)
Lightning (1952)
Sound of the Mountain (1954)
Late Chrysanthemums (1954)
Floating Clouds (1955)
Flowing (1956)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
Yearning (1964)
Two in the Shadow (1967)
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