Late Chrysanthemums | |
---|---|
Japanese name | |
Kanji | 晩菊 |
Directed by | Mikio Naruse |
Written by |
|
Produced by | Sanezumi Fujimoto |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Masao Tamai |
Edited by | Eiji Ooi |
Music by | Ichirō Saitō |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date | |
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Late Chrysanthemums (晩菊, Bangiku) is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows four retired geisha and their struggles to persevere in post World War II Tokyo. [1] [2] The film is based on three short stories by writer Fumiko Hayashi.
Late Chrysanthemums interweaves the lives of four retired geisha, Kin, Tamae, Tomi and Nobu, over a period of four successive days. Kin is a moneylender and a merciless businesswoman, who is insistent upon being repaid by her former geisha sisters Tamae, Tomi and Nobu. Her financial advisor Itaya tries to convince her to buy land in the countryside, as prices are constantly rising.
Tamae and Tomi, both widows, live together. Tamae is plagued by migraines, and as a result, unable to work as frequently as she would like to as a maid in a hotel. She is also unhappy with her son Kiyoshi's relationship with an older mistress, who pays him for being at her service. Tomi is unable to repay her debts as a result of her addiction to gambling. She laments her daughter Sachiko's upcoming marriage to an older man and tries to persuade her against it. Nobu runs a restaurant with her husband, which is frequented by the other women.
Seki, a former customer of Kin, who was sent to prison after he had attempted to kill her and commit suicide, tries to borrow money from her, but is quickly turned away. Kin becomes excited though when she hears that ex-soldier Tabe, her former patron and lover, is returning. To her disappointment, Tabe wants to borrow her money as well. She rejects his request and burns his photograph to erase all remaining memories.
Tamae and Tomi are eventually left alone when Kiyoshi leaves for Hokkaido for a job and Sachiko moves in with her future husband. Kin hears from Nobu that Seki was arrested for a money-related crime, but shrugs it off. She enters the train with Itaya to inspect property in the countryside which she considers buying.
Late Chrysanthemums is based on Fumiko Hayashi's short stories Bangiku (Late Chrysanthemum, 1948), Shirasagi (1949) and Suisen (Narcissus, 1949). [3] [4] The story Bangiku, on which the episode about the character Kin is based, [5] has been translated into English by Lane Dunlop and is available in the anthology A Late Chrysanthemum: Twenty-One Stories from the Japanese. [6] Narcissus, which inspired the episode with Tamae and Kiyoshi, has been translated by Joan E. Ericson and is included in her book Be a Woman: Hayashi Fumiko and Modern Japanese Women's Literature. [7]
Late Chrysanthemums ranked #7 in Kinema Junpo's list of the ten best Japanese films of 1954, [8] but also met with reservations. [9] Critics Heiichi Sugimoto and Shinbi Iida acknowledged the characterisation of the female protagonists, which exceeded the stereotypes of films of the time, and the performances of the principal cast (Haruko Sugimura, usually cast in supporting roles, has one of her few starring roles in this film), but faulted a lack of psychological depth compared to Hayashi's original stories. [9]
In retrospect, Late Chrysanthemums is often considered one of Naruse's finest works. [10] [11] In his 2006 review in the Chicago Reader , Jonathan Rosenbaum titled the film a "masterpiece", pointing out its "energy and vivid portraiture". [10] Keith Uhlich of Slant Magazine awarded the film a full four stars and called it "Naruse's most perfect film". [12]
Late Chrysanthemums was screened at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in 1985, [11] the Museum of Modern Art in 1985, [14] the Harvard Film Archive in 2005 [15] and the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2006. [10]
Late Chrysanthemums was released on DVD by the British Film Institute in 2007 and by Toho in 2021.
Fumiko Hayashi was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories and poetry, who has repeatedly been included in the feminist literature canon. Among her best-known works are Diary of a Vagabond, Late Chrysanthemum and Floating Clouds.
Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.
Repast is a 1951 Japanese drama and shōshimin-eiga film directed by Mikio Naruse and starring Setsuko Hara. It is based on the final and unfinished novel by Fumiko Hayashi, and was the first in a series of adaptations of her work by the director.
Haruko Sugimura was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.
Floating Clouds is a 1955 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel Ukigumo by Japanese writer Fumiko Hayashi, published just before her death in 1951. The film received numerous national awards upon its release and remains one of director Naruse's most acclaimed works.
Flowing is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel Nagareru by Aya Kōda.
Lightning is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the 1936 novel by Fumiko Hayashi and was the second in a series of adaptations of Hayashi's work by Naruse after the 1951 Repast.
Mother is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse starring Kinuyo Tanaka in the title role. The screenplay by Yūko Mizuki is based on the prize-winning entry of a school essay-writing competition.
A Wanderer's Notebook , also titled Her Lonely Lane, is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse starring Hideko Takamine. It is based on the autobiographical book Diary of a Vagabond by Fumiko Hayashi and its stage adaptation by Kazuo Kikuta.
Older Brother, Younger Sister is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. The film is based on the short story Ani imōto by Saisei Murō.
Apart From You is a 1933 Japanese silent drama film written and directed by Mikio Naruse. The film follows an aging geisha whose teenage son is ashamed of her profession, and their relationship with a young colleague of hers.
Husband and Wife is a 1953 Japanese comedy-drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.
Wife! Be Like a Rose!, also titled Kimiko, is a 1935 Japanese comedy drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the shinpa play Futari tsuma by Minoru Nakano and one of Naruse's earliest sound films. Wife! Be Like a Rose! was one of the first Japanese films to see a theatrical release in the United States.
Street Without End is a 1934 Japanese silent drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, based on a newspaper serial by Komatsu Kitamura. It was Naruse's last silent film and his final film for the Shochiku studio.
No Blood Relation is a 1932 Japanese silent drama film directed by Mikio Naruse, based on a novel by Shunyo Yanagawa. It is the first surviving feature-length film by the director.
As a Wife, As a Woman, also titled The Other Woman and Poignant Story is a 1961 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.
Anzukko is a 1958 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on a novel by Saisei Murō.
Bangiku, translated into English as A Late Chrysanthemum and Late Chrysanthemum, is a short story by Japanese writer Fumiko Hayashi, first published in 1948. It received the Women's Literary Award the same year and was later adapted into a film. The story describes an ageing ex-geisha who makes preparations to meet a former lover while reflecting on her past life.
The Song Lantern, also titled A Song by Lantern Light, is a 1943 Japanese drama film by Mikio Naruse. It is based on a novel by Kyōka Izumi.
A Brother and His Younger Sister, also titled An Older Brother and His Younger Sister, is a 1939 Japanese comedy-drama film written and directed by Yasujirō Shimazu. Together with Our Neighbor, Miss Yae (1934), it is regarded as one of Shimazu's major films, and a representative of the shōshimin-eiga genre.