"I can't understand Madame's behavior. She lets her husband treat her like a pleasure girl. There are limits to submission."
A post-war Japanese melodrama that shows just how unfair the patriarchy is, and the sad life of a woman, Madame Yuki (played touchingly by Michiyo Kogure). In a nutshell, she's trapped in a loveless marriage to a profligate drinker; both of them have lovers and live apart, but when her father dies, they come together and conflict results. She wants a divorce, but he won't release her. She starts up an inn at the suggestion of her lover, but her husband wants to take it from her and give it to his mistress (! Grrr). It's tough for her to break out of a toxic entanglement, both legally and emotionally.
It was a little surprising to me in how explicit the references to sex were. Nothing is shown, but the husband dominating her, humiliating her in front of a servant, bringing over other "belles" for the two of them, and his lover encouraging the three of them to sleep together make it clear. Her lover tells her "Your marriage was a mistake; a marriage without feeling," and she sees how destructive her husband is, but confesses that she has a sexual chemistry with him in one of the more eyebrow-raising but honest moments: "Despite my feelings, my body accepts, against me, my husband's love. A demon lives in the female body. Each time I see him, the demon dominates me. My husband knows it very well. I hate him. Or rather, I hate my inner weakness." It's a relationship where the sex makes it even harder for her to leave him; in short, he owns her.
The film spirals a bit in its melodrama over the last half hour, but it was enjoyable to see the husband also being preyed upon in a different way. Director Kenji Mizoguchi also gives us a marvelous shot of Madame Yuki walking up a hill through windblown fog, a scene that seems to capture her struggles perfectly. At just 88 minutes and with its themes that are far from creaky, this is one worth checking out.
