Street of Shame (1956)

Synopsis: In his last film, director Kenji Mizoguchi once again explores the lives of the courtesans of Tokyo's Yoshiwara pleasure district but forgoes his customary lyricism, taking a more harshly realistic... In his last film, director Kenji Mizoguchi once again explores the lives of the courtesans of Tokyo's Yoshiwara pleasure district but forgoes his customary lyricism, taking a more harshly realistic view than in earlier films as SISTERS OF THE GION. Set in a brothel ironically dubbed Dreamland, the film allows five of its occupants to unfold their lives. Yumeko (Aiko Mimasu), a middle-aged widow supporting a son, remembers an era when the profession of courtesan was esteemed, requiring skills in music and flower arrangement. The cynical Mickey (Machiko Kyō) has entered the life as a form of rebellion against a wealthy businessman father whose philandering scarred her mother. Yorie (Hiroki Machida) is a simple country girl, working to support aged parents while dreaming of marriage. Yasumi (Ayako Wakao), a victim of her father's embezzlement, moonlights as a moneylender, to achieve respectability with a small business. Hanae (Michiko Kogure), with a baby and an unemployed husband, simply hopes for survival. Against an audio backdrop of news reports of the Diet of Japan voting to outlaw prosititution, the women struggle for a scrap of dignity amid the bleakness of their lives. A veritable dream team of Japanese actresses gives an ensemble performance of memorable virtuosity in the director's last and most lacerating excoriation of his nation's unforgivable treatment of its women. [More]

Starring: Machiko Kyō, Ayako Wakao

Starring: Machiko Kyō, Ayako Wakao

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

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