Naniwa no koi no monogatari

The English title includes a tribute to perhaps Japan's most important playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, on whose play Tomu Uchida's opulent historical film is based. In a kind of framework story, he places the poet on the narrative sidelines, from where he virtually documents how the inexperienced and righteous Chubei (Kinnosuke Nakamura) falls in love with the young geisha Umegawa (stylized: Ineko Arima) in the Shinmachi entertainment district. When he realizes that she has to prostitute herself to pay for the medication for her sick mother, he embezzles money and flees with her. The long, almost floating camera shots reveal the tableaus of the artificial-theatrical setting. (mg)