Japanese Classics: TIFF/NFAJ Classics: Kenji Mizoguchi, 1939
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums [Digital Restoration]
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum殘菊物語［デジタル修復版］
Director Mizoguchi Kenji
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The only surviving entry in Mizoguchi's "performing arts trilogy." It follows the four-year, ill-fated romance between Kikunosuke (Hanayagi Shotaro), a young kabuki actor whose fame derives solely from his prestigious family, and Otoku (Mori Kakuko), who earnestly urges him to improve. The work in which Mizoguchi's signature long takes achieved their full maturity, the film features strikingly choreographed kabuki scenes full of impressive depth and dynamism, building to a finale of sumptuous visual grandeur.
Print courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd
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
![The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums [Digital Restoration] 1](https://img.filmcdn.com/film-still/1/0/7/5/1/2/107512-the-story-of-the-last-chrysanthemum-1939-1-741db2e1.jpg)
