Osaka Elegy (1936) 1/7

Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C71527BFC108E87B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL "Kenji Mizoguchi presents a poignant and caustic tale of obedience, duty, and the inequity of a patriarchal society in Osaka Elegy. Similar to Robert Bresson's A Gentle Woman and L'Argent, the repeated imagery of transactions reflects the devaluation of moral dignity, as money becomes a convenient surrogate for human interaction: Asai's marriage arose from economic and social gain; Mrs. Asai imposes herself on Asai's subordinate, Nishimura, by handing him theater tickets; Murai defends his parental skills by citing his payment for his children's education; Ayako accepts Asai's proposition in exchange for clearing her father's debts. Ironically, as Ayako attempts to follow cultural tradition by assuming responsibility for familial obligations, she is stigmatized as a shameless, delinquent moga (modern girl). In the end, Ayako's search for independence and happiness proves to be elusive ideals in the impersonal commerce of human emotion." -Acquarello, filmref.com Director: Kenji Mizoguchi Screenwriters: Tadashi Fujiwara, Yoshikata Yoda, based on the story Mieko by Saburo Okada Cinematographer: Minoru MikiM Music: Koichi Takagi Cast: Benkei Shiganoya, Yoko Umemura, Isuzu Yamada, Seiichi Takegawa, Chiyoko Okura, Shinpachiro Asaka, Kunio Tamura, Kensaku Hara, Eitaro Shindo