From:
Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Re: Scheduled FILMS (2) for Friday, April 16, 2010
To: rdca25@gmail.com
Cherry, Joseph, Eileen, Alice Wang, Jeanette, Mamie, Candy Jiang, Finna, Vincent, Max, Katherine, Ida, Juliet, Vicky Lin, Carolina, Candy Cheng, Sophia, Holly, David, Hansel, Vicky Shih, Tiger, Christine, Tiffany, Anna, John, Charlene, Anne, Chin, Minnie, Abby, Alice Huang, Vivian Lin,
CherryWomen of the Night
Before beginning of the movie, the director shows us from the aerial view instead of straightly focusing on the characters. By this kind of skill, though audience at first might not think there is something significant yet after the film they will understand Kenji Mizoguchi (director) tries to present the contemporary predicament of the women around Japan. The first time when Fusako went to the vender to borrow money (woman who sales clothes), she goes away quickly when that vender introduces her to a work much like being a prostitute. She looks down upon that that kind of job thus there is no eye contact between them. Later when she accompanied her mom to a company where they only got the bad news of her husband's death we can see that boss keep keenly staring at Fusako. This explains why he flirts with Fusako later and directly causes her to be a prostitute. Another special feature is when Fusako's sister, Natsuko, is delivering a baby. Fusako is much worried but the director lets other experienced women speak instead of her. At the end of the film, Kumiko should appear in the "damn place" (where gathers lots of prostitutes). I think it is quite meaningful when Fusako lights up the candle (and the light shows only on their faces) because her appearance can interpret that Fusako can start her life again she does not want the poor girl go astray like her. This strong determination may show up after seeing the unfortunate little life and her sister's delivery. Therefore, though beaten by one of the prostitute who seems to supervise them she does not give up. It is ironic to see a godlike woman holding a baby in the place like that.
Osaka Elegy
The film Osaka Elegy is quite like Women of the Night, we can see strong women awareness in them. In both films, the leading actresses try to be themselves but at last failed (one becomes a prostitute and the other becomes mistress twice). There is one scene when Ayako Murai is watching a kind of drama with Mr. Asai, what a coincidence that the quarrel with his wife is almost the same as the drama's plot. The second more impressive scene is when Ayako Murai and Nishimura (her boyfriend) both captured to the police station. The director enables audience to see the process of interrogation from the moving shots between two rooms and Nishimura went out heartlessly with his last figure shot in the XLS (ends up unseen). It is apparent that they are destined to separate and Ayako Murai ended up unacceptable by her family.
JosephThese two short films are directed by the same director, Kenji Mizoguchi. Both of them introduce the women role in the society, which are surrounded by prostitution, exchange, desire, exploitation, and so on. The director expresses his ideas not by emphasizing the characters' detailed expressions, like facial expressions. Instead, he constantly chooses to use long shots or have certain degrees of distance from the characters. The aim of this is avoid our involvement of the movies. Asides from long shot, the filmmaker uses long takes technically as well rather than cuts out some parts, just like he is telling what he is thinking to the audience. Although plain, the power of inner thoughts of women is extraordinary strong because of good acting. Also because of plain style of shooting, the great contrast between the film itself and the concept attached to the film is inevitably shown.
The second film can provoke me more emotional responses. There is another more obvious theme added into this film—exchangeability. Women are not only men's needs for desire, but the same product, labeled as "women." In this film, to Fusako's boss, Fusako and Natsuko are exchangeable. This is really inhumane. Originally, people are born as different individuals that each person has their own thoughts. However, as the film shows, maybe all of the prostitutes are regarded as women or desire. To men, whores are not different, for they all can fulfill men's own needs
EileenIt's about the women who live in the sexual inequality. The society make the innocent women to become the prostitute. The women in that time have lived a hard time. The men in that time have male chauvinism. They just like to play the women and don't care about their feelings. But it really hurts the women and even change the life of the women. The most impressed shot to me is that a man infringes the woman. When it comes the most excited moment the director just let them have it behind the bedquilt that makes the audience lots of imagination. Fusako has a strong contrary on her personality from innocent to cynical. I remember that in the beginning when the boss of the clothes shop ask Fusako whether she wants to earn more money by making a man happy. She refused it quick but later she just become the prostitute. It's really an obvious change of her.
Alice WangThe movie Osaka Elegy is directed by the famous Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi. Most of Kenji's films are about the reality and injustice in the society, especially about the victimization of women due to the difficult economic situation in the society. The director is obviously on the women's side in some aspects and has sympathy for them; however, it is said that he is not a feminist, rather, he is more often regarded to be a Marxist. Also, most of his movies seem to be greatly influenced by Italian Neorealism, escaping from the conventional Hollywood cinema codes and attempting to expose contemporary social issues. One of the most recognized features of Kenji's movies is the frequently used long shots or long takes. For example, most scenes in the film Osaka Elegy are shot with distance instead of within short distance. There are barely any close-ups of the characters in the movie and it is due to the fact that Kenji doesn't want the audience to have any emotional involvement in the characters or to identify with them, instead, he wants the audience to analyze them as part of the society or a family. In this case, most of the actors in the film appear to be like puppets instead of real actors, that is, their importance is given in the film.
JeanetteWe saw two movies this week. To me, Woman of the Night seems more credible than Osaka Elegy on the aspect of women victimization. It clearly shows how women struggled for life under difficult circumstances. With the vivid emotion shown by the actors, especially Fusako, we can almost experience the plight ourselves. However, since this movie is a relatively short one (70 min.) the links between scenes and scenes are not strong enough in my opinion. Sometimes, one character just suddenly shows up out of expectations. The main storyline, thus, seems vague. I like the last scene, when Fusako convinced Kumiko to go straight. She beat Kumiko hard, while crying and shouting with all her strength. To me, that is the moment when Fusako finally express her frustrations to the society. As for the last shot, Mary and Jesus, I didn't really get the meaning.
MamieThese two film both focus on women prostitution issues. However, director Mizoguchi uses many long shots and long takes to make the whole films look serious and ironic. I find Asai's glasses shines several times in the Osaka Elegy. It is very unique that his glasses can make such abnormal lights even though Asai is in the house. No light can reflect from his glasses but his glasses shines automatically. I think Asai's shining glasses imply his authority and confidence. On the other side, it creates a cartoon- like feature in Osaka Elegy. As a result, in such a serious movie, it is very satiric. Both of these two films don't solve the prostitution problems at all. Since they are realistic films, Mizoguchi just present the grief in the common people's life instead of using garish decoration. He provides us a fact that makes us to think deeply rather than making us to sympathize with them. That's why Mizoguchi uses so many long shots to state the crucial truth.
Candy JiangOsaka Elegy and Women of the Night, since they are directed by the same director—Mizoguchi, share the same style. Every take finish in the way like it's not finished. As a audience who is quite used to the Hollywood-style filmmaking, I can't really appreciate movies in Mizoguchi's way. Whenever I am still anticipating something, like close-ups, the scene is cut away. For instance, in Women in the Night, the opening sequence is shot with high angle and followed by a slowly can in. When I am anticipating that the camera will cran into those people on the street, the take is cut away.
Personally, I think actors' and actress' acting is quite plain. For example, In Osaka Elegy, when Ayako is figting with her father, the fighting is not like a fighting. It's plain. Moreover, lines are said like actors' are reading. However, I quite like the ending. At the end, Ayako says nothing. The underscore says for her sadness, and the shot is emphasized by a close-up, the use of which is rare in the film. Another take that I like every much is in the Women in the Night. At the end, when Fusako brings her friend home, there's a tilt shot to the image of Mary, representing chastity, which is kind of ironic with the following high-angle shot of other prostitutes lying on the floor.
FinnaFrom the begging of this film, the opening crane shot covers the whole community. It shows that every human being is very small and everyone suffers and tortures by the war, poverty and the loss of their beloved people. Keeping mainly using the long shot, the director, Kenji Mizoguchi keeps a distance between characters and audience. In order to let the viewers see the deeper side of society objectively. He does not want us to be touched but to look deeply inside their struggles for desires and lives. The long take can barely let us see the characters' facial expressions clearly. Though there are little strong emotional or sensational scenes in Woman of the Night, the actors and actresses have the most real emotions. Fusako loses her son and her husband almost simultaneously; she has no hope and her only sister force her to prostitute herself. What can be worse than that? So she stated to be more and more cynical and bitter toward people and her life. We can see her radical change in appearance and behaviors after being a prostitute. The costumes of the characters can provide clear information about their situations and lives.
The final sequence, in the burnt-out church, Fusako fighting with others under the picture of Virgin Mary, is so ironic. After the fighting, the scarred women still feel angry and resented against their destinies; however, the portrait of Virgin Mary cannot console their hatreds but make them doubt the order and peace in the society. There is no redemptive value through this film instead of the realistic observation of the "true" life. I think this church scene has little to do with the whole film, because the church, religion occurs at the very end. It does not have a good ending to me.
Vincent
These two movie are very old, according to the hand-out. As teacher said, the director Kenji Mizoguchi used lot of long shots, especially in Women of the Night. Both of them are about women, and each story is full of sorrow. The stories are about falling f the women, and the wicked of the men. So, I feel a little uncomfortable during watching the movie because of the darkness of humanity and the struggling of the weakness the film reveals. But the shots director shows to me are still very impressive. The long shots makes the character much more hopeless and weak, just as their miserable life. The two films are also share a same style of the director Mizoguchi , so it's easy to recognize that both of them come from the similar idea that he want show to audience.
MaxBoth of the two films, Osaka Elegy and Women of the Night, are very different from the movies of Hollywood style. There is not many fancy techniques and is full of long shots and long takes that strongly separate viewers from the characters. What's more, the emphasis is totally put on women in the two films. The frustration and misfortune of females are vividly shown. With the help of the color of the movies—black and white—the grim and sad theme of them is even more vivid and strong. They make audience feel depressed after seeing them.
KatherineThe film just let us know how difficult their lives are during that time. Sometime the world is just that cruel. It's very hard for people to make a living, especially for women. I think in the second movie the three sisters are just so pathetic. They kept hurting those they love and on the same time they are hurting themselves, too. And seeing the little sister I realize we really need to be more alert or else we might really put ourselves into the troubles, sometimes even worse than that. We really need to be grateful that we are born in a better time.
Ida
Both directed by Mizoguchi, I like Women of the Night more than Osaka Elegy. In fact, the plot and style of these movies are quite similar. They both talk about women's plight and the director also tries his best to avoid using close shots in these films. (In fact, I do not totally agree with this style editing. It is because I think that it is more hardly to involve ourselves in these movies simply because of this style editing.) However, the plot of Woman of the Night seems to be much more intricate though it is still guessable. The characters seem to be more prominent and easily to cause our sympathy. Besides, Women of the Night also brings the motif of greed. As a result, I think that it is a movie worthy to see and also a good example to study different kinds of shot editing.
JulietThe director, Kenji Mizoguchi, presents the same idea—women sacrifice their own bodies for making money—in these two films. In Osaka Elegy, in order to help her family to deal with debts, Ayako Murai (Isuzu Yamada) uses her own body to earn money from men. As for Women of the Night, Fusako (Kinuyo Tanaka) decides to work on prostitution because she wants to escape from her sister after having a quarrel with her. Although these two female protagonists choose to be a prostitute depends on distinct reasons, both of them finally decide to regard their bodies as a money-making tool. Moreover, I appreciate one scene in Osaka Elegy. That is Ayako's waiting for Sonosuke Asai (Benkei Shiganoya) in the house. In this scene, we see that Ayako stays alone in the room. Suddenly, we hear the loudness from people outsides. For me, the use of loudness outside indeed makes a good comparison. Namely, it can strengthen Ayako's loneliness. In addition, I commend one scene in Women of the Night. When Fusako and her mother-in-law visit the company which Fusako's husband work on, the boss comes. In the next shot, we find that the boss in the background actually stares at Fusako who is in the foreground. In my opinion, the boss' expression is good, and we can realize that he desires her according to this expression.
Vicky LinThe movie, Women of the Night is depicted well about the miserable situation of women in. I am impressive by the acting the female actors in the film. They look like docile and weak when comparing with men. Those women have no exaggerated expressions on their faces; however, they still can express the delicate emotions to the audiences through their eyes and body. There are a lot of long shots in the movie, in this way, we can see the set and all the actors that the director wanted to show. Although there are seldom close-ups which can show every detail on faces, we, the audiences still can understand well through other ways of emotion expressing of the actors
CarolinaClose up on the characters facial expression is rare in both movies as the professor pointed out in the handouts – the directors prefer to establish a distance between the characters and the viewers. They want us to have a more objective point of view on the issues rather than let us getting involved with the personages' emotions. Sometimes the camera seems to be behind something or peering through something (in "Osaka Elegy"). Yet I would still find it interesting if we are closer to the characters, specially the female ones. I am intrigued by their real thoughts about their social positions, because I find it very difficult to understand the real meaning of struggling to survive in the world.
In general term, "Women in the Night" does not literally refer to the "night" but to their painful and only alternative to "trade" their body in order to move on in their daily life. The entire movie seems to have more light than "Osaka Elegy", but still, the theme is not a joyful one.
The interchangeability of identity seems to be a positive matter in "Women in the Night"' as they can replace each other. However, a sword always has double edge. The sisters are just treated as a thing, an object labeled with "female body" instead of their real identity. In this case, men are just acting like a beast with sexual desires.
PS: I want to add that there is an American version of "Women in the Night" which also talks about prostitution under the Nazi regime in Shangai ( this is what I have understood ) in which i watched it by mistake.
Candy ChengAfter watching the two movies, I am a little confused about them but I also enjoy that era in Japan that I didn't know before. In the first movie, I think the female leading role is a great person. She tries her best to earn more money for her family, but her father doesn't treat her well. Both two movies are made in black and white, and sometimes I can't see the things in detail. The next story is more interesting for me. I enjoy it pretty much and I also pay attention on the clothes the characteristics wear during their acting. I am glad to watch such old movies in this class, and I hope I can analyze them clearly.
SophiaBoth Osaka Elegy and Women of the Night are black-and-white movies directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Because they were produced in 1936 and 1948, it is not clear enough for the viewers to watch it smoothly. However, the director's style is clear in these two films. Director uses many long shots instead of close-ups. Viewers do not see close-ups or medium shots. The theme of the first film focuses on how females are pressed and how females contribute to real life. Themes in both films are related to the issue on feminism. Also, the second film also shows the life in Japan after World War II. By watching these two films, viewers can get more familiar with Japanese culture.
Holly
These movies are mainly about the feminism. The low-key lighting is the most important element in the two movies. The high contrast between the black and white represents the unfair treatment towards men and women. Especially in the Asia, women struggle to survive in the patriarchy. In most occasions, women play the role as the support for men, not allowed to disobey their husbands' will or doubt any of their decisions. In Osaka, it's ironical that the girl is the main financial source in the family, but her efforts are useless, taken for granted and even regarded as a shame. Her sister symbolizes the traditional woman, listening only to her father and brother. She's innocent but also childish, not knowing her older sister's devotion to the whole family and how hard for a young lady like her sister to earn a living in the complicated society. In the end, the girl loses her family and her boyfriend. The ending is meaningful; the girl is not the only one suffer from their social responsibilities and values. The second movie is more complicated in the plot setting. It's satirical that women's life is highly influenced by men or the expectation made from the general society. I love the final shot; two women crying in the debris and deciding to be straight. The decision is the wake-up for women in Asia. Women should not be the men's toy or an object to sell the body. It's interesting that the night ladies have their own group and even a leader to follow. It may symbolize the women's desire to establish their rules and becomes the master. Still, watching these movies makes me uncomfortable somehow. When falling in the situation, being in their shoes, I feel sad for those women devoted themselves to the society but gaining nothing only the depreciation. But back to the reality, the feminism has been promoting for several years. Though the promotion of feminism has long way to go; looking on the bright side, it's lucky to be a modern woman.
DavidIn Osaka Elegy I can see the characteristic of the Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi. Comparing to other films, his films have fewer shots. He is famous for the concept "One scene, one shot." From the plot to the mise-en-scene, he seriously keeps his film in a consistent style. The film is strongly influenced by traditional Japanese art. Instead of close-ups, Kenji Mizoguchi prefers to use long shots, which can strengthen the emotional feelings that the characters bring to the audience.
HanselThe film portrays the miserable condition of women at that time. The film does not have unusual shots and tries to stick to the real world. The film shows men's negative effect on women and how this leads to women's fall. The film shows that, ironically, fragility and strength coexist in women at the same time. It seems somewhat radical for a woman to abandon her job to participate in prostitution because her boss, also lover, has an affair with another woman. People might think the blame is on men; however, there exists a question of why women take such extreme measures in response. However, the tide of the society was indeed repressive to women and imposed on them a heavy mental burden.
Vicky Shih
Both Osaka Elegy and Women of the Night are Kenji Mizoguchi's productions. These two films are both writing about the women's status in the society in that age. The films used all black and white and many long shots, it makes the situations more miserable! In these films, women almost have bad situations, but the society saw it reasonable. It was obviously a society which degraded female! Kenji Mizoguchi really the vanguard of the films, but he revealed the fact at that era. The films really makes me feel fresh and new, because I have seldom touched this subject.
TigerOsaka Elegy
This film has its style outstanding with the Japanese setting and the special techniques in cinematography. In terms of the proximity, most of the scenes in the film are shot in long shots. These long shots are impressive and one of the reasons is that it is not so common to use a lot of long shots in other films. The distance toward the characters make the film unique and it seems that the director is a narrator who is telling a story. When it comes to lighting, some parts of the film are shot in low-key lighting and it is an affecting feature of the film. The sharp contrast provides powerful images of the dark society, and also adds a mysterious tone to the story. Montages in Osaka Elegy deliver the messages and the plots effectively in an obscure way, which provides the audience a chance to have further imagination.
Women of the Night
In terms of proximity, medium long shots occurs form time to time because in this film there are many plots that are formed by the conversation of two characters. The establishing shot of the opening scene is also a pan shot, which shows the whole scale of the town where the story occurs. The opening shot provides a general background by shooting the architectures in a bird's eye view and then zooms in to a specific spot where women are smoking and talking. Door motif is used in the film; some of it is combined with good framing. The door motif might be related to the sexual issue, which is an important element through the film. Also the clothes are used as a motif in the film, for example, at the begging the woman goes to a friend for borrowing money in a clothing shop; man and woman talking on the balcony where washed clothes hanging to get dried.
ChristineIn both Women Of The Night and Qsaka Elegy, we saw women struggled from Capitalism. Women sold their bodies to men and got to live on. Numerous of women were forced to made sexual deal on the street and take the risk of illness. Like the whole society was ill. To them, home was not a warm place but a burden which force them to prostitution in order to earn money.
Concerned with love, which is something that can not anticipate, leading both of the leading actress the betray by male and end up with tragedy. One was viewed as a crimianl, the other was raped and her money taken away. We objectively felt the sadness of women in that time who was a victim of money through the shots.
TiffanyBoth films from Kenji Mizoguchi discuss the issue about exchange between economy and sex after WWП. Film stock of two films is surrounded with gloomy atmosphere due to the hard living of people. There is a common point in these movies that women are exploited by men and they take revenge on men by being prostitute.
In Women of the Night, the motif which Fusako will become a prostitute actually showed with the opening sequence because the shop's female keep looking at Fusako even though she leaves. In addition, the plot about another girl―Kumiho cheated by a hoodlum, her face is shadowy all the time as soon as she comes across that boy.
As for the other film, Osaka Elegy, from character's POV, the puppet show is an ironic symbol of the real society because what it plays responds to what the characters do in their lives. A apparent contrast appear when the boss sees Ayako. This plot rightly shot after the boss' wife say that she believes her husband will and dare not betray her.
AnnaOSAKA EULOGY
The director's preference to keep the scale long, with no close-ups until the end and very little medium shots, can prevent the audience from much emotional involvement in the characters so as to provoke their critical thinking. This style creates an emotional distance between the character and audience, which results in less emotional identification and pleasure, on contrary, more analysis on social ciphers of an inhumane society.
The puppet show in 3:3 serves as a miniature of the characters destinies since they are all considered puppet in that social context.
WOMEN OF THE NIGHT
Mizugochi aims at the theme of home and family in both films, illustrating a miserable fact that home is only a locus that's as corrupted as elsewhere, providing no security to either Ayako or Fusako. Since there's no difference between home and other place, going-home is just a final resort with a shiny symbol of love. Love is used as an excuse in both films, in which prostitution, frustration, explotation, fall into the underworld and obligation are all carried out in the name of love.
The train serves as a symbolic resonance in Women of the Night as a sign of unfavorable destiny doomed by the society, in which no matter where the women go, they cannot escape from it, and where they go, they cannot get rid of it.
Desires can never be satisfied as the way need can be. Neorealism being the style of the film, Mizoguchi focuses on the downward falling of woman into prostitute, especially when Kumiko was stripped off her clothes, so it is with her social identity. The vicious desire of man selling and buying and the resulting vicious circle is a byproduct of an ill postwar society.
Method acting can be typically analyzed in Fusako coaxing her sister when she tried to get close to her both physically and mentally, however Natsuko turns back to her physically and treats here suspiciously.
JohnAyako Murai is a young woman working in a telephone operator. She was forced to do lots of things not on her will just for her family. This film truly expresses the painstaking of woman in that age. This phenomenon is not only appearing in Japan but also lots of countries. In the past, Taiwan had the same phenomenon too. Most of women couldn't accept the complete education even they wanted it. They could only dedicate everything they had to their family, not to their selves. It was an unfair society.
When I finished the first movie last week, I found that I am so lucky to be born in this age which is filling with colorful films. Although we have watched many films in black and white, but this is the one that truly make me felt uncomfortable. In this film, the screen is unsteady, it make my eyes nervous and make me anxious. The color is so dark that I can even identify some actors. Sometimes I can't distinguish the background between day and night.
CharleneComparing these two films, I like the later one better. The plot is more interesting and the implication is much more meaningful. These two movies share the same topic, which is prostitution. The films seem to focus on both Marxism and feminism, concerning the issue of business (money), social values and gender bias. I think the director provided the women's misery through this movie. However, there is no intention to change this situation radically. Just show this phenomenon to us, and let us make an analysis on it, to make our own conclusion.
For the techniques of camera, as the handouts mentioned, the director wanted the audience watch this film in a much more objective way. The main use of long-shot makes me hard to get involved in one of any characters in the film. They seem to be so far from me, and I'm totally a looker to "see" what happened on them, just like it has nothing to do with me.
AnneI've never watched Japanese movie with English subtitle before , therefore I spent more time to read the subtitle than see the actor and actress's face .This movie tells us the traditional interact between men and women. Besides ,this movie described a woman's miserable life, she sacrifice everything she had to raise her family. Including , life ,love ,boyfriend even though her family didn't understand her. All the men in the movie are not love worthy ,which the director want to show us.
The tempo of the movie is kind of slow and the way they acted is much more restrained, unlike the previous movie ,Picnic, the actors and actress are much more emotional. On the other side , there're not too many soundtrack during the movie . The director used silent atmosphere instead of music to show the serious frame. The silence scene made me feel longer than which with music. It's a low key movie , and some part is very ironic ,for example the main actor likes to order woman but he's not dare to command his wife ,therefore he got another woman try to order her everything.
ChinI experienced the different between the close-up or the Hollywood style with the long takes or long shot that used in Mizoguchi's films. In my sense to such shoot, it creates a different feeling of the scene but it is so consuming because they have to move the camera instead of zoom in. The low-key lighting on the lady always make her look soft and pretty. Until now, I still cannot catch the main meaning that a director wants to convey through the underscore music.
MinnieOsaka Elegy
I think this movie reflect not only women who lived in old times, but also today.
Ayako is very devoted women. She became a mistress of her employer to pay his father's debts. After that, she became another mistress of Fujino to pay his brother tuition fee.
Women's rights and position in their family and society keep improving in Eastern countries. But the way which forces them to sacrifice themselves isn't different from this movie. All the man in this movie push Ayako to sacrifice herself. Even, her lover didn't help her. He just let her life down.
The reason this movie approached me more realistic than reality is because Ayako family's attitude. Maybe someone say that a villain of this movie is Fujino, but I think Ayako's father and brother are worst character in this movie. Because they ruined Ayako's life. The worst thing is they even didn't thank and respect her sacrifice.
Woman of the night
The most impressive scene
: After Husako back to prostitute life, she met her ex-husband's sister who has same job like her. The scene, when Husako take care of Kumiko and come back with her was very moved.
There were 2 awkward parts.
- The scene Husako got out of her home. : I think, Husako could get a better job to revenge her husband. I can't understand why did she take that job.
- Natsko's safe delivery : She was suffered from syphilis. And she was alcoholic when she was a pregnant. But her baby was fine. If director wanted to suggest Natsko will live stronger with her baby, he should be more realistic.
AbbyThe style of the film is quite different from what we usually see for the previous ones. Since it is directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, a Japanese director, the settings and cloth are quite Japanese. At the beginning of the film, Asai talks and acts and treats his female servants in an impatient way, which somehow indicates the issue, feminism, that the film deals with. But after his wife's appearance, Asai is somehow afraid of her, and tolerates his wife to act in not-a-good-wife way. There is one part I think that it's quiet interesting. Its' when Asia talks to Ayako in his office, there is no sound for that scene. By doing so, this probably arouses the audiences' curiosity, and let the audiences to use to imaginations. Though we can't know exactly what Asia say to Ayako, we can guess some messages from Ayako's reaction.
Alice HuangBetween of the film we watched last Friday, I would like to comment on the second one, Women of the Night. The director picks on the topic which is quite controversial not only in Japan but also the whole world in 1940s when women's right is on the rise. This kind of serious issue is appropriate to be filmed as a black and white movie, providing a more solemn atmosphere.
The opening is a series of crane shots over the landscape of a town in Japan. When the movie is about to start, it slowly dollies into the scene in which the story starts to happen. The shot on two women followed by a shot on a warning board provides one kind of ironic feeling since what the women do is totally opposite to what the board showed.
Here is another scene shows a typical cut. When Fusako hears that there are some news about her husband, she is about to head to the man holding information with her mother. Then the scene cut from their excitement and happiness to a sad and sorrowful one since they finally know that Fusako's husband has died. This cut offers the audience a clear emotional conflict.
The composition of different characters plays another important role in this movie. In the beginning, when Fusako and her mother go to the company to seek for information, there is one scene in which there are two men and two women. The composition of this scene put the two women in a more under controlled and helpless way to show that their only hope is totally ruined. Another scene in which Fusako is leaning on the window on the bus, she only can be seen through lots of men's arm. This part indicates the idea that, "women are under lots of pressure."
The ending is a commonly seen one, but it's kind of confusing that the director chooses the symbol of Christian instead of the traditional deity of Japan. Therefore, I don't think the ending is a proper one.
Vivian Lin
Two films from Mizoguchi surprise me a lot. He avoids using close-ups and typical Hollywood shots in the films. In my opinion, it becomes difficult to observe the characters' face that forces me to "see" tha acting, lighting and atmosphere built by the characters and director . They are totally different from Hollywood commercial style. The life of the women and men exploit each other in the period of the war time are precisely described in the film. Women have to sell their bodies to earn money, even they just want to have better life. Howeve, once you have been a prostitute, it seems that women can not escape the hole. They struggle to survive but without dignity and themselves. What a miserable life! I prefer the second film WOMEN OF THE NIGHT. Although it is full of desperation and corruption, I still touched by the impressive scene witch at the end of film. "There mustn't be any more women like us ever again. " May be there is still some hope living in their heart and the world.
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