A Geisha (1953) Gion bayashi (original title)

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Yoshikata Yoda
Matsutarô Kawaguchi (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

11 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In the post-war Gion district of Kyoto, the geisha Miyoharu agrees to apprentice the 16 year-old Eiko...

Plot Keywords:

Geisha | Post War | Biting | Attempted Rape | Debt

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Michiyo Kogure	...	Miyoharu
Ayako Wakao	...	Eiko
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Kusuda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Saburô Date	...	Imanishi
Sumao Ishihara	...	Kokichi
Midori Komatsu	...	Oume
Kanji Koshiba	...	Kanzaki
Kikue Môri	...	Domestic arts teacher
Chieko Naniwa	...	Okimi
Eitarô Shindô	...	Sawamoto
Ichirô Sugai	...	Saeki
Haruo Tanaka	...	Ogawa
Emiko Yanagi	...	Kaname

Directed by
Kenji Mizoguchi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Matsutarô Kawaguchi		novel
Matsutarô Kawaguchi		screenplay
Yoshikata Yoda

Produced by
Hisakazu Tsuji	....	producer

Original Music by
Ichirô Saitô

Cinematography by
Kazuo Miyagawa

Production Design by
Kazumi Koike

Sound Department
Iwao Otani	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenichi Okamoto	....	gaffer

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Eureka Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (1978) (USA) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

"Gion bayashi" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

85 min | Argentina:90 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

Daiei Studios

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)

The Secret Heart of an Imperfect Film

There may be an element of atonement in Mizoguchi's films about exploited women. It is most powerful in "Street of Shame" but plays a role in "Gion bayashi" as well. The exploiters are bad indeed, though Mizoguchi gives them humanizing motivations; the exploited, while not too good to be true, are much better than most of the people I know.

What makes this visually beautiful film unforgettable and worthy of repeated viewing is, first, the evolving relationship between Older and Younger Sister, which is sufficiently imitative of life to satisfy the most rigorous champion of Kurosawa's "Lower Depths." As life happens, these two women evolve. It is this evolution which is the secret heart of "Gion Festival Music." Second, importantly, it is the nuanced, understated, but heroic performance of Michiyo Kogure as Miyoharu. Her artistry becomes manifest when her character portrait here is compared to her equally successful role of Taeko in Ozu's "Flavor of Green Tea over Rice," made the year before. The two women could not be more different, and she accomplishes the differences with bare flickers of change across her face and almost imperceptible alterations in body language.

These qualities inspire me to forgive the overly schematic plot and excessively contrasting portraits of the very good and the very bad.

At the end "Gion Festival Music," "A Geisha," or whatever title translation one wishes to use, is not principally about the cruel exploitation of women. The film has a secret. It is a love story. And I love this movie.