January 21, 2016
Osaka Elegy –
Japan, 1936
Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1936 film Osaka Elegy opens with a shot of flashing lights that reminded me
of the way Las Vegas has been shown in countless movies. The scene is even
accompanied by a jazzy score, and for a moment, I half expected to be swept
into a story filled with exhilaration, gambling, and lighthearted fun. So it
was a bit of a shock when daylight abruptly arrives and casts its gaze on a rather
lifeless, minuscule pharmaceutical company. It’s a much less impressive sight,
one with little in the way of romance or joy, and I was immediately overcome
with an understanding of the somber reality about to unfold in front of me, that
life can be disappointing and devoid of the thrills one hopes for.
Osaka Elegy occurs
in a world rife with misery. In the film’s opening scene, we watch as Sonosuke
Asai (Chiyako Okura), a pampered man who married into money, berates his
servants and then engages in a brutal verbal tit-for-tat with his wife. She
insults his manhood, and he criticizes her unwillingness to, as he puts it, “stay
home like a wife should.” The verbal spat occurs in the presence of a doctor,
and his expression makes it clear just how uneasy he is being there. This
unhappy couple is contrasted a moment later with that of a young woman named
Ayako Murai (Isuzu Yamada) and Nishimura (Kensaku Hara), the young man that she
seems to have a crush on. Interestingly, in their first scene together, we see hints
of not romance or flirtatious glances, but jealousy and suspicion.
It is here that the film changes focus, and it is quickly
apparent that Ayako is the central figure in the film. We learn that Ayako’s
father, Junzo (Seiichi Takekawa), has embezzled 300 yen from his employer, and,
understandably, they want their money back. At the same time, Ayako receives an
indecent proposal from her boss, who just happens to be Sonosuke. Under normal
circumstances, her answer would be swift and firm, but under these conditions,
she wavers. In a possible instance of foreshadowing, when we first see her, she
is reading an article entitled “A Woman Corrupted by Greed.” It invites the
question: Will this be her headline, or will what transpires show the fallacy
of such sensational allegations?
One of the most interesting aspects of Osaka Elegy is Ayako’s complicated character. She is not naïve or
unquestioningly decent, like the characters so often played by Setsuko Hara,
and there is a pessimism to her, an acceptance of the unjustness of the world
around her and her own vulnerability. At the same time, she seems to be able to
adapt to even the worst of situations, morphing herself into what someone else
wants and playing a role that likely disgusts her. Watching Yamada play this
character is utterly fascinating, for she is able to change her facial
expression on a dime. One moment, she’s looking at the man she adores with wide
eyed hope and exhilaration; the next moment, we can see her sizing up the
situation and calculating just what she has to do to get what she wants. It’s a
truly fascinating performance, and it was never completely apparent to me which
“Ayako” was the real one.
Osaka Elegy was
written by Yoshikata Yoda based on an original story by Mizoguchi himself, and
it is a credit to the two of them that Ayako always retains the audience’s
sympathy. We are never allowed to forget that the worst of circumstances can
sometimes justify decisions that would otherwise be looked on critically and
likely disparaged. Ozu touched on this theme in his 1948 film A Hen in the Wind, yet did so in a more
stereotypical way. Ozu’s fallen woman never comes across as manipulative or
two-faced. The same cannot be said of Ayako, and it is astonishing that Mizoguchi
was unafraid to depict this during the wave of nationalism that was sweeping
Japan in 1930s. His is a land replete with broken relationships, privileged men
who have no qualms about using their wealth in the pursuit of illicit
interactions, and women well aware that the deck is stacked against them. It is
a place where empathy is almost non-existent and where mistakes have the potential
to haunt those that break established social norms in perpetuity. The film is
moving, challenging, and utterly absorbing. (on DVD as part of the Criterion
Collection’s Eclipse: Series 13: Kenjo
Mizoguchi’s Fallen Women)
4 stars
*Osaka Elegy is in
Japanese with English subtitles.
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