"She's uncontrollable when she gets hysterical."
"That's because you lied to her, like all men."
This is a heartfelt melodrama, one that empathizes with women and the unfair position they held in the Meiji era of Japan, 1868-1912, and, perhaps by extension, their position when the film was made. The premise is simple: out of financial desperation, a young woman (Hideko Takemine) becomes the mistress to a loathsome money lender, only afterwards finding out his real occupation, and that he's married. She's been set up by a woman who owes the loan shark money and hopes to use the relationship to get out of debt, and she's encouraged in this by her elderly father as a practical way for them to get out of poverty. She had been duped by a man before, you see, and is "damaged," limiting her prospects. The feeling of her being trapped, forced to use her body as her only option, is heartbreaking.
When the young woman meets a medical student (Hiroshi Akutagawa) the pair have eyes for one another, but class restrictions make entertaining a romance difficult. Another student points out to the young man that he's a medical student and she's a kept woman, so he should forget about her. Meanwhile, her father, who's essentially profited from his daughter having sex with a middle-aged man, cautions her, saying "How can you give up the life you have and go back to the living hell of poverty?" Meanwhile, the mistress's "master" (Eijiro Tono) keeps a close eye on her, and despite his duplicity to both his wife and her, has the nerve to get upset even when he finds out she's learning to sew kimonos, saying, "Have you been hiding something from me? I won't allow that!" Not surprisingly, the double standard is in full effect.
Hideko Takemine plays her part with the perfect balance between control and emotion, and is radiant to say the least. The shot where director Shiro Toyoda changes the lighting on her face from background to foreground in a close-up is absolutely gorgeous. Her character has a sense of integrity even when trying to fulfill the obligations of the role fate has assigned her, heightening the emotions. It seems she's constantly having to slide the windows of her little apartment closed, as people walking by peer in, or her master wants her. In this I saw a symbol of hiding, or the potential for discovery of unpleasant truths, bringing shame to her.
To Toyoda's credit, he humanizes all of these characters, including the moneylender, who we find had to work hard as a janitor to college students, saving his meager tips before starting his business. His wife finds out about the affair through a clever device in the plot, and vents her displeasure with him. First he denies it, and then when confronted with evidence, admits it but says her "job" as a wife has actually gotten easier now, though the film's sympathies are clearly with her.
The film also does not succumb to artifice in its main story, or its few subplots. There is a woman with five children who owes the moneylender, and to keep up with her payments, is forced to become a prostitute down by the river. While there is a level of acceptance in the ending for the main character, there is also a cruel reality, especially as we imagine her future. Great film, and a near miss for an even higher rating.
