Onna no sono

There's unrest at a prestigious woman's college. Student Hideko Takamine is in trouble, not only for the usual misbehavior, but because she says the college is outdated and all it teaches is how to be a good country wife. Teacher Mieko Takamine is her principal opponent, but things soon boil over because of the inconsistent way the rules are administered.

It's a long movie, almost 140 minutes, and it looks like writer-director Keisuke Kinoshita had seen MADCHEN IN UNIFORM; finding the situation universal, he adapted it to Post-War Japan and its concerns, not only Communism and Peace, but growing women's rights. He also did some fine character writing, with the participants not only clearly delineated, but well acted... hardly surprising given the two leads.

The actresses average a bit old for college students, but they make up for it in being skilled, seasoned professionals.

It was a bit surprising to see young Japanese women of the early 1950s in a conservative school asserting themselves so forcefully. Likewise, the open discussion of political thinking and social movements was surprising open especially in comparison to other movies of that time such as "Twenty Four Eyes" wherein it was present but understated and often pushed to the background.

I found the story and the subplots to be nuanced, very compelling and emotionally fully engaging.

Hideko Takamine and Yoshiko Kuga both put in strong performances. Takamine is believable as someone emotionally torn who finds the various pressures overwhelming. Kuga's character is more complicated but she handles the various levels effectively.

The movie might seem long but I think it usefully could have been longer. Alternatively, some attention could have been shifted away from Takamine's character and into others. There are a large number of characters and although we get good development in some cases, we don't get a chance to be fully introduced to each of them. If we had, it would have made the motivations of all of them more clear. One example is the school's counselor who seems to be torn between sympathy for the students, his opinions of his colleagues and his role in the school. We don't get much insight into his personal perspective, we just get the results and have to speculate.

There are a number of sub plots going on and I can see how one could get some of the secondary characters confused at times. We are also left a bit unclear about the precise chain of command in the school's hierarchy. Who ultimately calls the shots there and who would be expected to take responsibility of various events is not clear. Perhaps some improvements in the script and/or the editing could have handled that better.

We also get some parochial sentimentality that is very standard Japanese fare but I don't think it is overdone at all.

A moving story, but what makes the film special is its context. For something coming out of Japan in 1954, I was surprised to see the theme of student rebellion against the conservative administrators of an all-women college, the questioning of the limits placed on their role in society after they graduate, and the criticism of the control of the patriarchy.

In early scenes we see that the college is what you might call a 'finishing school,' one intent on instilling morality, conformity, and 'proper behavior' more than academic rigor or intellectual debate. In addition to the restrictions on dress and thought, one of the administrators (Mieko Takamine) also reads her students' private letters and uses a variety of techniques to humiliate them. In reaction to student complaints and calls for a more liberal environment, she responds by saying the students are being unduly influenced by outside agitators and communists (yes, that old conservative ploy, to claim the protest is being fomented by outsiders).

Without describing them all, there are a number of student characters, and I liked how their viewpoints and backgrounds were unique. The pressure on a young woman named Yoshie (Hideko Takamine) is greatest of all since it comes from multiple directions. She wants to do well so that she can work afterwards (as opposed to the majority who simply want to get married), but she's prevented by rigid regulations from staying up late to study. She's in love with Shimoda, a young man of modest means (Takahiro Tamura), but her father forbids her to continue seeing him, and he's assisted by the school which informs him of their letters. This idea of graduating from college, getting a job, and marrying for love is challenged to say the least, and in incredibly unfair ways.

I loved the variation in pacing from director Keisuko Kinoshita. In quiet, contemplative scenes he's slow, and lets dialog heavy with feeling work on the viewer. As action progresses, he moves things along with cuts and scene changes. My favorite scene was a tracking shot, where Yoshie and Shimoda are walking along and talking about life and their possible future together. The unfairness he perceives is from the older generation, and he says "After the surrender, politicians said the whole nation was responsible for the war. If we always have to share the responsibility, then we want to have a say in our own lives."

Later, we get a glimpse at the unfairness she perceives from a male-dominated society. She's mentioned that she can get a job to help support them, and he says "But as a man, it's my duty to support you." She responds simply by saying, "I don't understand. Why is it always about men?" Both lines expressing unfairness are brilliant, and all the more powerful for the simplicity of their delivery.

As they later part (and this is not their final meeting or a spoiler), there is another wonderful moment when she waves a handkerchief at him from the top of a castle tower, and he waves back from the back of the last car of a train riding away. It's quite touching, and I loved how this scene revealed so much about the depth of their feelings for one another.

There are other moments that may get a little too melodramatic, depending on your taste, but overall I thought the performances were all solid. The world was changing after the war, and the film has a kinship with rebel movies from other cultures. I give it four out of five stars for its story, plus an extra half star for the courage of the message and the treatment of women. I read that Kinoshita and Kurosawa were rivals of a sort, and while I revere Kurosawa, it's interesting to reflect that one of the (perhaps unfair) criticisms against him is his depiction of women. This film is in stark contrast to that, or to films with more conservative messages, such as some of Ozu's work.

The Garden of Women is a social commentary on the changing status of women in Japan during the days after World War II. The setting is a women's boarding college in Kyoto where rich families send their daughters. The goal of the school, however, is not so much to provide an education as it is to produce potential brides. In order to produce these results (and to protect the school's reputation) the administrators bury the students with rules and regulations, while also prying into every aspect of their private lives. The end result is that the place feels more like a prison to the students than a school. A number of students decide to fight for their rights, which of course leads to conflict with the school's administrators.

It's hard to complain about a movie with such lofty goals. I imagine there really were schools like this in Japan at the time, and efforts by young women to be seen as equals is of course laudable. Unfortunately, propaganda and social commentary aren't enough to make a good movie, and the end result here is not overly interesting. The storyline is never particularly compelling, the tone is rather strident and the movie is overlong. Even the great Hideko Takamine cannot save it, as she is given little to do other than look sad and break down crying (which she does a lot.) Overall, it might have some historical value to some people, but it is probably too histrionic and dated for most viewers today.