A Música de Gion

Kenji Mizoguchi's splendid "Gion Bayashi" begins like a docu-drama on the role of the geisha in Japanese society before turning into the kind of melodrama you might expect from Douglas Sirk. Eiko is the 16 year old trainee geisha and Miyoharu is the older, more experienced geisha who, as a friend of Eiko's late mother, takes her under her wing and who develops a strong, sisterly bond with her.

Few male directors could have handled this material with the empathy Mizoguchi brings to the subject. Men are basically secondary characters and are mostly seen as predators and Mizoguchi draws wonderful performances from his largely female cast and in particular from Michiyo Kogure as the unfortunate Miyoharu. If the film is not as well-known as some of the director's other works it remains absolutely essential nevertheless.

Ayako Wakao visits Michiyo Kogure. Like Miss Kogure, Miss Wakao's mother was a geisha, and now she wishes to be an apprentice. After sorting through the girl's situation, including a father who's impoverished, Miss Kogure accepts her old friend's daughter. The expense is managed by a loan from the woman who runs the largest tea house in town, and Miss Wakao seems to have a brilliant future in front of her.... until she bites a client who tries to rape her.

Kenji Mizoguchi's movie is not actually about Miss Wakao, who at 20 appears to be half a dozen years younger. It is about the elegant Miss Kogure and the discovery.... no, the re-awakening of her revulsion at the dirty side of what is supposed to be an elegant business. At the time, a 15-year veteran of the movies, she had entered at the same age Miss Wakao was now, and had lately been playing major character roles, like the acidic wife in THE FLAVOR OF GREEN TEA OVER RICE. Here, it's a pleasure to watch her grow as a human being in Mizoguchi's always outraged phillipic about the poor position of women in old Japan and new.

This movie by Kenji Mizoguchi treats one of his favorite themes: the living conditions of the geishas, here in modern Japan.

The main character in this movie is a maiko (a young apprentice geisha), sponsored by an older 'sister'. After becoming herself a geisha, the maiko doesn't accept the former rules of the game anymore. She doesn't want to sell her body to anyone or everywhere. On the other hand, the madam of the geisha house doesn't like to lose important customers. At the same time, her 'older sister' becomes an important pawn in a corruption case. A customer of a company refuses to sign a major contract, a matter of life or death for the company, if he doesn't get the geisha's favors and become her 'protector'. She has to choose between her material and her emotional (sexual) interests.

This intimate film is a critical analysis of the status of women in a Japanese society dominated by males, who believe that everything is permitted, especially with women who are bound by debts to their houses and their bosses. Kenji Mizoguchi directed this movie impeccably. Highly recommended.

As they decide to turn down two of their customers, a professional geisha and her apprentice chose unexpectedly to defy traditionalism. Perhaps one of Mizoguchi's most universally accessible films on Geishas theme and one that has definitely become the archetype for films dealing with such topics. The Japanese filmmaker had become very experienced at this stage and was able to deliver a compelling feminist drama full of defiance and protest against traditionalism's stubbornness and the suffering and misogyny that women sometimes have to endure.

Kenji Mizoguchi, an important figure in the history of Japanese cinema, is very well known for his collaboration on the portrayal of Japanese women on screen; one of the first reasons for this being his sister, who was sold to a geisha house by his father's decision. This highly contributed to his attachment to highlighting women on his films.

This is another film where geishas and their lives are involved. The story concerns one geisha and her apprentice, who is supposed to have the will to take the training into full practice and seriousness. Everything seemed fine when the training was in process, but when it came to conclusion, Eiko (the apprentice) had to debut as a geisha, but could not bring herself to accept her chosen client. Likewise, Miyoharu (Eiko's trainer), finds trouble when rejecting a client in love with her. Both rejected clients happened to be wealthy businessmen important to the geisha house where they worked, thus finding problems from there on.

While the film may not be Mizoguchi's best, I can assure it is a wonderful joy to behold its cinematography. The camera positions and movements are just something to appreciate, accompanied by a totally honest and credible acting by pretty much every actor/actress involved.

If you have liked everything you have seen from this wonderful director, there is absolutely not any reason why you should not get your hands on this film.

My score: 7.5/10