WILLIAM FLANIGAN Viewed on DVD. Restoration = ten (10) stars; subtitles = nine (9) stars; cinematography = five (5) stars; score = four (4) stars. Director Kinji Mizoguchi's gripping depiction of what life probably was like (or pretty close to it) for women who lived in late 17th Century Japan. The photo play combines traditional tales and historic depictions with the imaginations of its creators. What emerges, at least from the Director's perspective, is a far from pretty picture for all women living at all levels of society. As the title implies, this is essentially a one-character film whose life phases involve all levels of the female cultural food chain. Actress Kinuyo Tanaka delivers a Tour De Force performance by playing eight interconnected roles representing each life phase. Blank verse is sung to provide voice overs that connect scenes. But sometimes this technique seems to be just the Director trying to drive his point home to audiences who (in his mind) may be too slow witted to follow the drama streams. This approach becomes very stale very fast. The film's music (it's too disjointed to be labeled a "score") is certainly unique, but also, unfortunately, grates on the modern ear and is often annoying. It can become a less-than-welcomed distraction to a scene (in all fairness, it would appear that the composer might have been trying to duplicate what may have been the music from the era the film addresses). Cinematography (narrow screen, black and white) and lighting are a bit on the dark side with scenes often appearing in somewhat fuzzy gray and white vice more sharply-focused black and white. Rather than creating some sort of "visual mood," scenes can be just plain hard to discern. Nearly all above-the-line talent is credited in subtitles during the opening credits! Congratulations to the Criterion Label for a small, but significant contribution to the film's restoration process. This level of subtitling is a very rare occurrence in the restoration of classical and in the release of modern Japanese films on video disc as well as for modern films shown in theaters. In all cases, producers seem to be sending this message to non-native Japanese: a large portion of the movie's cast and crew are not important (which, of course, is nonsense!) and have been ignored in this cheap translation. A movie worth re-watching from time to time (especially if you are deep diving Japan's ancient cultures). WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

Ilpo Hirvonen Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese master of world cinema, renowned for his lyricism and poetic imagery of nature. He had the talent of positioning the viewer as an observer through creative camera movement and composition. He created elegant films that depicted the circumstances in which Japanese women had to live, and to make choices. When Japanese films first arrived to Europe in the early 1950's, he was instantly praised as the greatest master of Japan; until the year of 1954 when Akira Kurosawa made Seven Samurai. Kurosawa changed everything the Europeans had so admired about Japanese cinema; exoticism, beauty and silence of life. But still, even to this date, Kenji Mizoguchi is considered as a great master of his country. Mizoguchi defined what Japanese cinema was all about. He brought Japan among other nations, outside of Asia.Even that Kenji Mizoguchi started making films in the 1920's, he made his most celebrated films during the rising of Japanese cinema, in the early 1950's. Ugetsu monogatari (Tales of the Pale Moon after the Rain, 1953) might just be his most well known work, and it is quite perfect with its synthesis of picture and sound, reconstruction of the epoch and the poetic imagery. His films of this era were characterized by strong aesthetic styling, poetry and beauty. But also by postwar disillusions, darkness and the price of war. They were stories set in feudal Japan, during the 16th and 17th century, but were allegorical for postwar Japan. The Life of Oharu is much more strictly tied to its own time, compared to Ugetsu, but it also succeeds in being a timeless classic with its portrayal of injustice and contempt.A samurai's daughter, Oharu, falls in love with a lower-class servant. After getting caught she and her family get deported from their village. When the local Lord is in need of a concubine to produce him an heir, Oharu gets a second chance. But after the new Lord has been born, Oharu is once again deported with only a small payment. The film follows the road of her life which is full of misfortune and darkness.The title of the film is quite revealing with regards to the content of the film. It portrays the life of Oharu, full of agony and despair. In her life, Oharu only gets three moments of joy all of which are eventually taken away from her: first when she falls in love with the servant; she thinks that she has found the love of her life. But gets disappointed as the society can't approve relationships regardless of wealth and status. Then when she is promised a better life as a concubine; she thinks that a more affluent life waits for her but only gets abused and betrayed. Finally, when she is promised to see her son; the son of the Lord, to whom she gave birth to, a better life should await for her. But in turn gets once again deported and becomes a beggar.Kenji Mizoguchi doesn't embellish the misery one bit but he doesn't highlight or point out things for us either. There isn't a slightest error of exaggeration in the film. The people Oharu becomes acquainted with are all spiritually poor and horrible, with a few exceptions. The few benevolent people are determined to die or lose it all. For instance the dance fan-maker Oharu marries, after trying prostitution and being a busker. The man loves her, regardless of her past, but gets murdered for no reason. Most of the other men treat Oharu like dirt, coldly and without compassion. But of course as a historical film The Life of Oharu tells more about the time it was made in than the time it takes place in. Through this story Mizoguchi touches many unmentioned taboos of the Japanese society in the 1950's.In The Life of Oharu a woman doesn't have a change for better life; social rising is impossible. The only way to improve one's life, for a woman, is to marry an affluent man. But not even that works for Oharu. Since her man gets killed and she is once again doomed. This ruthless depiction of the society still contains lyric flashes of the transience and sudden beauty of life. These images are contrasts for the social realism, which isn't naturalism by any means. For its style, the film comes close to poetic realism of its own.In addition to these insightful themes of the transience, beauty and severity of life, The Life of Oharu also has strong criticism for capitalism. In the art of cinema, prostitution is often a reflection of market economy and free trade; women are free to sell themselves as they wish, but actually are forced to do so. For a film with a strong take on like this, it's no surprise that its themes are strictly social; disregard, money, hierarchy, avarice, power and injustice. One excellent example is the scene where a man enters to a brothel. First the men in charge try to drive him away but after seeing his great amount of money, decide to treat him like a king.The contempt of women is part of Mizoguchi's social criticism but a parallel can be drawn to feminism as well. The director has often been called a 'pre-feminist' since he depicted the desolation that characterizes the lives of many women. He made several precisely considered shots that examined the circumscribed choices of women in the Japanese society. In a world like this there is no hope left for women. The life of Oharu is the road for the damned. The road to hell, along which there is nothing good and only death awaits in the end. Her life is a path built on graves of those who tried and died before.

MARIO GAUCI Japanese cinema was virtually unknown in the West prior to Akira Kurosawa's victory at the 1951 Venice Film Festival with RASHOMON (1950); its success spurred fellow director Kenji Mizoguchi (whose career was basically in the doldrums at that stage) on to complete a dream project of his. Even so, due to the scarcity of sound stages after WWII, this film was shot in a large warehouse which was later also used by Josef von Sternberg for his own Japanese venture, ANATAHAN (1953). Consequently, THE LIFE OF OHARU (itself awarded the Silver Lion at the following year's edition of the Venice Film Festival) became Mizoguchi's own breakthrough effort – despite having already been in the business for thirty years! Actually, it turned out to be the first of five consecutive works of his to compete for this coveted prize.Having been personally involved with them, the trials and tribulations of geishas was a favorite theme of the director's and THE LIFE OF OHARU would seem to be its cinematic apogee'; in fact, eminent film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum went so far as to call it "the most powerful feminist protest ever recorded on film". It was also the twelfth collaboration between Mizoguchi and his leading lady Kinuyo Tanaka (who even turned to directing films herself the following year, the first Japanese woman to do so – to her mentor's apparent chagrin!). Conversely, the brief, almost unrecognizable appearance of Toshiro Mifune (albeit in a pivotal role) marked his only stint in a Mizoguchi film. While its very subject matter makes it perhaps less immediately appealing than the Japanese film-maker's subsequent masterpieces, THE LIFE OF OHARU still emerges as an exceptional work in his distinguished canon (in spite of its being cluelessly awarded a measly **1/2 rating in Leonard Maltin in his "Film & Video Guide"!).The film is long and episodic – everything that can possibly go wrong for Oharu does: the daughter of a samurai serving in the Imperial palace, she falls for a lower class page. He's beheaded for violating the social code when they're caught together, while Oharu and her family are exiled. A servant of a lord arrives looking for a concubine and settles on the heroine; after bearing the lord's son, his clan banish her for draining his energy! She's consequently forced into prostitution by her highly-indebted father, but is dismissed for being too proud before long. Next, she's hired by a wealthy merchant who takes advantage of Oharu upon learning of her past – an action which incurs the wrath of his jealous wife. A period of happiness married to a fan-maker is cut short when he's murdered by thieves, whereupon she decides to become a nun; however, Oharu's expelled once again when caught seducing a textile merchant to pay off her debts! Now reduced to street begging, she's taken in by two prostitutes – but is laughed at by her customers for being old and ugly. Oharu is then visited by her mother with the news that she's been invited back into her son's clan – but the elders veto the idea and, because of her 'shameful' behavior, is only allowed one glimpse of him! At the end of the picture, we see her resuming a beggar's existence… Oharu's emotional turmoil is brought vividly to life by Tanaka's magnificent central performance – the actress herself was 42 at the time but, given Mizoguchi's penchant for medium shots, she manages to convincingly get away with portraying a woman from the age of 18 through to 50 – as well as an excellent music score by Ichiro Saito. Despite a generally downbeat tone, the film is relieved occasionally by humorous passages (such as the fastidious specifications required in choosing the lord's mistress and the ultra-servile attitude of the host at the brothel towards extravagant customers). The circular nature of the narrative is also evoked in visual terms: the film's very opening sequence is re-enacted towards the end; besides, the image of a cat stealing off with the wig of the merchant's wife is echoed by Oharu's imitation of a growling feline when confronted by the scorn of her customers.Having missed out on a rare Sunday morning screening on Italian TV (in the original language, no less), I'd long considered purchasing the film on VHS but had discarded this plan in view of the fact that the full-length version is supposedly 148 minutes (against the 137-minute print on the VHS). Still, I couldn't pass it by any longer when the R2 DVD also presented the shorter cut (even if I didn't have to buy it); hopefully, Criterion will sooner or later release their own edition to go with the other Mizoguchis – UGETSU (1953) and SANSHO THE BAILIFF(1954). Unfortunately, 30 minutes from the end, my DivX copy froze and wouldn't proceed any further – so I had to hastily convert it to DVD-R (a highly time-consuming process) in order to finish viewing the film!

Lynne Bronstein Mizoguchi's films are capable, I think, of teaching life lessons without preaching or grandstanding. This film could cause a male chauvinist to join a consciousness-raising make sensitivity group. In a simple,understated way, the film outlines the tyrannies that made happiness almost impossible for women, not only in feudal Japan, but all over the world. It comments on the use of women's bodies as sex objects and baby-making machines, with no regard for women's minds or feelings. Notice, by the way, that Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka)is supposed to age from 18 to 50-and she really seems to age although makeup in the 1950s was not as advanced an art as it is now. The aging process is achieved through Tanaka's acting. And if she does not seem to us to be quite the ravaged old "witch" that one of her customers claims she is, then so much the better to let us know that she is being judged by an insensitive society.