Frau Oyu

Kenji Mizoguchi's movie 'Miss Oyu' is simply masterful. It is based on a short story (The reed cutter) by Junichiro Tanizaki. But, while the motives and the emotions of the protagonists in the short story are sometimes rather ambiguous, they are totally purified in the screenplay. The protagonists exemplify traditional family roles and are confronted with these traditions, like in this movie a widow with children. She cannot remarry, because she must stay in her husband's family home to raise her children.

The main topic of the movie is forbidden love, and more generally the impossibility of being happy in this world, which are very characteristic themes in Kenji Mizoguchi's films. The film illustrates also some typical aspects of J. Tanizaki's work, like the 'physical' (facial) influence of a mother on the future emotional life of her son, or the fear of scandal and of losing one's face in society.

This film shines through the purity and the intensity of the emotions of the protagonists (hidden for a long time, they erupt violently), through the marvelous performances of the actors and through its forceful message about the all importance of love. A must see.