Tribute to Yasuzô Masumura 2023 / Manji / Japan 1964
Incredibly daring and ahead of its time, the first of Masumura's three adaptations of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s stories is an explicit lesbian-themed drama that had no parallel either in Hollywood or in much of the wider world at the time. Kyōko Kishida is the childless, unhappy wife Sonoko, who falls under the spell of the beguiling art pupil Mitsuko (Masumura’s muse Ayako Wakao), much to the chagrin of the former’s husband and the latter’s fiancé and secret lover. Part chic erotica, part study of the conflict of blinding desire and domesticity, Masumura conjures up this sensationalistic tale in warm colors, lending the story a deceptive sheen reflective of a time and place governed by appearances.
Joseph Fahim
90 min / Color, DCP
Director Yasuzô Masumura
/ Screenplay Kaneto Shindô
/ Dir. of Photography Setsuo Kobayashi
/ Music Tadashi Yamanouchi
/ Sound Takeo Suda
/ Editor Tatsuji Nakasizu
/ Art Director Tomoo Shomigawara
/ Production DAIEI studio, Kadokawa Corporation
/ Cast Ayako Waka, Kyōko Kishida, Eiji Funakoshi
/ Sales Kadokawa Corporation
Kadokawa Corporation
2-13-12 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, 102-8552, Tokyo
Japan
Phone: +81 807 233 6972
E-mail: [email protected]
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