Uwasa no Onna

In Shimabara District in Kyoto, the city's historic entertainment district, the widowed Hatsuko (sovereign: Kinuyo Tanaka) runs a thriving geisha house. Her daughter Yukiko (from vulnerable to emancipated: Yoshiko Kuga) returns here, who had recently tried to kill herself because of an unhappy love. A young doctor, with whom the mother has a secret relationship, falls in love with Yukiko and plans to move to Tokyo with her. In an impressive way, Mizoguchi interweaves the perspectives of mother and daughter, who are gradually beginning to build a new connection. Eight years later, the two grandees of Japanese cinema Kinuyo Tanaka and Yoshiko Kuga will work together again, this time behind the camera as director (Tanaka) and producer (Kuga) of OGIN-SAMA. (mg)