Japanese Classics: TIFF/NFAJ Classics: Kenji Mizoguchi, 1936
Osaka Elegy
浪華悲歌
Director Mizoguchi Kenji
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Mizoguchi's first film for Daiichi Eiga after following producer Nagata Masaichi from Nikkatsu. Ayako (Yamada Isuzu), an employee at a pharmaceutical company, becomes her employer's mistress in order to support her father who has been accused of embezzlement. Mizoguchi observes with unsparing clarity as her life gradually unravels and she is abandoned by both her lover and her family. Yamada combines the rhythms of her native Kansai dialect with a distinctly local sensibility to portray a strikingly modern, independent heroine.
Mizoguchi was born in Tokyo in 1898. Following his debut in 1923, he was noted for Kaminingyo Haru no Sasayaki (1926). After Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion (1936), he won the International Award for The Life of Oharu (1952), the Silver Lion for Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), and Sansho Dayu (1954) at the Venice Film Festival, making his name known globally. He died suddenly in 1956 at the age of 58.
From Tokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39
