Sisters of the Gion

Umekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when he asks to stay with her after becoming bankrupt and leaving his wife. However her younger sister Omocha tells her she is wasting her time and money on a loser.

Here we have another film by Mizogucki looking at "fallen women", much like "Street of Shame" twenty years later, and to some degree "Osaka Elegy". But we also have a tale of the old and the new -- looking to the West and also sticking with tradition. This is especially interesting given the radical shift in Japanese culture after World War II.

I have not seen the remake and thus cannot compare them, but how do you top the work of Mizoguchi? You simply cannot.

In the early days of film writing "Sisters" was often cited as one of the great films EVER; it is probably right that this quiet, measured film is now not viewed as such.

Still, I found it held my interest easily and was effecting. The acting is admirable, and the sadness of the women's plight are expressed without sentiment. Well worth seeing; 8 out of 10.

This movie, about two geisha sisters who lead a hard life in the Gion district of Kyoto, is a good drama movie!

I personally do not have much to say about it. The movie is not amazing or incredible for my part, but it has some funny moments where the main plot is the most compelling element. It feels slow at times, but fortunately, it is quite short to be a feature film, and it is also nicely shot and the actors do good. I am glad I took it a visit because I had a good time!

Despite not being a masterpiece, this movie is a good drama with humor and a strong plot. Solid acting and visuals make it worth a watch.

This film is about geishas on Kyoto, Japan, in how they live and ply their trade. Since it was made by Mr. Mizoguchi, who seemed to have a fascination with prostitutes, it is right up his alley. While good, the story did not completely grab me like some of his others, especially "Street Of Shame" and "Ugetsu". The film's success is in the message it portrays as to these ladies, that they are somewhat trapped in their existence with no way out, broke and looking for a patron to take them out of that life. However, I did not find the characters to be as developed as I would have liked, so the film loses steam, even though it is a fairly short film, much less than ninety minutes. Still worth watching, it just doesn't have the depth of some of his other films.

When reviewing Kenji Mizoguchi's 'Sisters of the Gion', the first and foremost thing that I have to talk about is the film's portrayal of exploited women and their sorry plight. For a film made in 1936, the film is astonishingly progressive. Mizoguchi leaves no stone unturned in showing the viewer how tough the life of a geisha was. The men whom we see engage with the sisters Omocha and Umekichi, though played by different actors are made to look very similar appearance wise and I think that was a specific choice on the part of Mizoguchi. Mizoguchi's approach to telling this story has a distinct boldness to it with a hopelessness simmering underneath. The protagonist Omocha is not a submissive character whose pain and suffering is supposed to convey the message. Instead, she is a feisty pragmatic rebel who played the game the way it is without being obstructed by any sense of morality. The feminist message is supposed to be conveyed by the fact that even fighting the system isn't enough to escape the exploitation and the abuse. These women would still continue to be treated as commodities.

What struck me about Mizoguchi's direction and visual style is his meticulous use of space in a particular frame. He sits on a frame, there is very minimal editing and he uses tracking shots quite a bit. He uses the 'frame within a frame' composition(also found in Renoir's films) quite a bit by placing characters in the background while others being in the foreground and pretty much each and every one of these visual choices serves a thematic purpose, be it conveying the difference in mindsets of Omocha and Umekichi or showing a man being lured in by Omocha's manipulation,etc. Another thing I noticed is Mizoguchi's reluctance in using too many close-ups. The close-ups in the film are used very sparsely and economically.

Due to its runtime, the film is a little light on character development or backstory, but the nuanced nature of using visuals to tell a story really impressed me. It is clear in its agenda and Mizoguchi is bold enough to express his ideas with conviction.