The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)

The adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Matsutarô Kawaguchi (screenplay), Shôfû Muramatsu (author: novel)

Stars:

Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kôkichi Takada, Ryôtarô Kawanami

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shôtarô Hanayagi	...	Kikunosuke Onoue
Kôkichi Takada	...	Fukusuke Nakamura
Ryôtarô Kawanami	...	Eiju Dayu
Kinnosuke Takamatsu	...	Matsusuke Onoue
Jun'nosuke Hayama	...	Kanya Morita
Tamitaro Onoue	...	Tamizô Onoue
Ichirô Yûki	...	Guest in waiting room
Kômei Minami	...	Shintomi greenroom manager
Jin'ichi Amano	...	Shintomi's onnagata
Haruo Inoue	...	Actor
Sumao Ishihara	...	Manager of the travelling company
Kô Hirota	...	Greenroom manager of the travelling company
Minpei Tomimoto	...	Guest in waiting room
Eijirô Hose	...	Travelling actor
Nobuko Fushimi	...	Eiryû, a geisha

Storyline

In Tokyo in 1888, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adoptive son of an important actor, discovers that he is praised for his acting only because he is his father's heir, and that the troupe complains how bad he is behind his back. The only person to talk to him honestly about his acting is Otoku, the wet-nurse of his adoptive father's child. She is fired by the family, and Kikunosuke is forbidden to see her, because of the gossip a relationship with a servant would cause. Kikunosuke falls in love with Otoku, and leaves home to try to make a living on his own merits outside Tokyo. He is eventually joined by Otoku, who encourages him to become a famous actor to regain the recognition of his family.

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Plot Keywords:

actor | acting | love | wet nurse | truth | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 January 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ranked number 88 non-English-speaking film in the critics' poll conducted by the BBC in 2018.

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Connections

Remade as Zangiku monogatari (1956)

User Reviews

An incredibly directed movie.

This is one real powerful and effectively directed movie, that also is fine looking and features some fine acting performances.

It's a quite long movie, which is not really due to its story but more in the way its sequences are handled. Director Kenji Mizoguchi maintains a very slow pace with many long static scenes in it, in which the camera doesn't move and there are no in between cuts. It does work out well though for the movie. It makes the movie visually beautiful to look at but also makes the story more powerful. It's a real fine directed movie, for which the director can not be praised enough. He handles the movie and its story really well and effectively.

The story features some typical and important Japanese themes in it, such as honor and family. Fans of Japanese cinema or Japanese culture will surely get a blast out of this movie. The entire story is set in the Japan, or Tokyo to be precise, of 1885. This means that the movie is also being filled by some wonderful looking sets and costumes.

It's also a pretty well acted movie. Normally I'm not a too big fan of acting in Asian movies but this movie feature some rather realistic performance, that don't ever go over-the-top, which also is a real accomplishment for a '30's movie in general.

Mostly due to its directing approach the movie works out so well and effectively. Because lets be honest, the story itself is actually quite simple and also not something that hasn't done before in any way. It's the reason why director Kenji Mizoguchi is still so loved and appreciated by many, even now, well over 50 years after his death. The themes are all handled well and despite being not too original, it all works out still well and refreshing.

But it's not just a style for everybody though. I can understand that some people might not like watching this movie, since it's pace is so slow and overall cinematic style is so outdated now days. Nevertheless cinematic lovers, or just fans of Japanese cinema, should be able to really appreciate this movie.

9/10

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