Osaka Elegy (1936)

 Kenji Mizoguchi's "Osaka Elegy"

There seems to be a pre-war Renaissance happening in Japanese cinema with filmmakers like Yasujiro Ozu, Sadao Yamanaka, and Kenji Mizoguchi all contributing to a new, powerful world of film. All of these films all seem to share similar themes, as well. They all seem to deal with poverty, class dynamics, and the social consequences of troubling economic situations. Mizoguchi's first big hit, 1936's "Osaka Elegy" is no exception. 

The film focuses on a young woman who descends into prostitution to bail her father out of the embezzlement case against him. She ends up the mistress for the head of a large drug company. She is well provided for, even her very own apartment. The arrangement comes to an end when his wife finds out. She later attempts to reconcile with her previous boyfriend but that too comes to a screeching halt when the police get involved. After she is released from the police station, she returns home to find that she is unwelcomed by her family.

"Osaka Elegy" is one of many Japanese films at the time to deal with having to compromise yourself and make unwanted sacrifices to stave off economic disparity. It wasn't just Japan dealing with these issues, as many countries around the globe were suffering greatly after the economic crisis of 1929. However, the film also deals with public scrutiny to women who are forced to do whatever it takes, in this case, prostitute themselves. Similarly to the 1934 Chinese film "The Goddess," this film deals with the impossible task of the modern woman to navigate the fallout of economic fallout. After prostituting herself, our protagonist is abandoned by everyone in her life and the film ends with her alone on the street with no support. 

Ironically, despite the social 'shame' that is accompanied with the life of prostitution, our protagonist begins to become more self-assured and independently minded. She begins to dress differently and carry herself differently. Although she becomes a 'shamed' woman, she paradoxically grows more self-assured, despite the film's tragic ending. Mizoguchi and his writer partner, Yoshikata Yoda, took a big risk in demonstrating the full complexity of our feminine protagonist's journey. In the end, one can't help but think that society is the problem, not our female lead.

I also very much enjoyed Mizoguchi's direction. The film seems shrouded in stark darkness that permeates every scene. This melodramatic visual style creates such an atmosphere of lurking tragedy and a society under a spell of malaise and depression. I also very much liked Mizoguchi's use of the moving camera. His contemporaries like Ozu and Yamanaka seem to prefer a more still camera that utilizes edits, whereas Mizoguchi likes to use more tracking shots to follow his characters at times. I got the feeling that I felt more in tune to the characters through this method.

Overall, the film was a great start for me in my Mizoguchi journey. It was a short watch, but it was not preachy and it sustained itself scene after scene.