Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Scriptwriter: Y. Yoda after Kanji Kunieda's novel.
Cinematographer: Shigeto Miki
Editor:
Sound:
Music: Hisato Osawa, T. Mochizuke
Cast: M. Bando, K. Tanaka, K. Bando, H. Kawasaki, T. Izuka, K. Kusashima, K. Takamatsu, H. Ohara
Production: Shôchiku-Kyôtô
Distribution:
Alive
45 rue de Turenne
75 003 Paris
France
Tél: 0033 1 42 74 18 72
fax: 0033 1 42 74 18 66
Year: 1946
35 mm, Black and White, 93 min, OV Japanese with French Subtitles.
In the 18th century young Seinosuke decides to join Kano, the famous art school, to become a disciple of painter Utamaro who is considered to be one of the specialists in portraying women. He likes to paint on the skin ofhis gorgeous models with whom he keeps ambiguous relationships. This places him in a turmoil of passion which is soon beyond his reach. Yoda, the film scriptwriter, declared that «the painter grew fond of the personality of women, especially of the prostitutes whom he supported in their aspiration for freedom. He was not only attracted by the formal beauty of his models, but he also liked talking with them, seeking to reveal their inner beauty».
