Flowing (1956)
"Nagareru" (original title)

Otsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her business is heavily in debt. Her daughter Katsuyo doesn't see any future in her mothers trade in the late days of Geisha. But Otsuta ... See full summary »

Director:

Mikio Naruse

Writers:

Toshirô Ide, Aya Kôda (novel),

Stars:

Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine

4 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Rika Yamanaka / Oharu
Isuzu Yamada	...	Otsuta
Hideko Takamine	...	Katsuyo, Otsuta's daughter
Mariko Okada	...	Nanako
Haruko Sugimura	...	Someka
Sumiko Kurishima	...	Ohama
Chieko Nakakita	...	Yoneko, Otsuta's sister
Natsuko Kahara	...	Otoyo, Otsuta's sister
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Namie's uncle
Daisuke Katô	...	Yoneko's ex
Nobuo Nakamura
Kumeko Otowa
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hideko Ebata
Chiyo Izumi
Masayoshi Kawabe

Storyline

Otsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her business is heavily in debt. Her daughter Katsuyo doesn't see any future in her mothers trade in the late days of Geisha. But Otsuta will not give up. This film portraits the day time life of geisha when not entertaining customers.

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Plot Keywords:

geisha | literature | 1950s | tokyo japan | japan | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

29 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

House of Geisha

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Life of Oharu (1952)

User Reviews

What A Cast!

While watching this film, you could be reminded of Mizoguchi's "Street Of Shame" which mined the same territory, that being a geisha house in Tokyo at the time when the government of Japan was considering outlawing prostitution. The difference between the two films is that this film is less grim, though by no means a happy film. Set almost completely in the geisha house, it tells the story of the people in it. Not all are geishas, though. Hideko Takamine plays the daughter, and she wants to get a regular job. The house itself is in debt, with the threat always looming that the mother will have to sell. The actresses in this film are excellent, and they make the film so, so good. The aforementioned Ms. Takamine, Izuzu Yamada, Kinuyo Tanaka and especially the amazing Haruko Sugimura are just great portraying the characters in this film. It is not an especially happy life, but director Naruse shows brilliantly that these ladies know how to do one thing best: survive. A near great film, on a par with "Street Of Shame", but not so foreboding. Highly recommended.