Watch my video essay about Juzo Itami here!

Liked this a bit less than the rest of Itami’s catalog so far, but that certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to love here.

For starters, the performance by Nobuko Miyamoto is beautiful and heartbreaking. The cinematography, staging, and blocking are stunning as always. The story threw me for a loop several times. And while I'm sure that my Western ignorance around Japanese customs was impeding my ability to fully understand and grasp this film (I'm still not really sure what a Geisha is...), it was still a profound perspective on a love story mixed with the usual Itami crime subplots.

Also, the humor is still here in spades. At one point, one character talks about how he's able to hang a brass tea kettle off of his erection, and I nearly spit out my drink. The blending of tones is well accomplished here, with the film going to some dark places in the back half, as we see Nayoko being passed around like a piece of property.

Per usual, Itami does struggle with keeping the focus on his female protagonists. There were far too many stretches of this where Nayoko is brushed aside in favor of the political backroom dealings and blackmail, and talk of bank loans. Not that that stuff isn't enthralling to watch unfold, but so often I just want Itami's movies to be HER movies, rather than have her feel like a supporting player in her own story.

The film is less playful in its construction and form than other Itami's. It has its moments here and there, but overall, we sit within scenes longer, the editing is more sparse, and the camera remains static. All of that helps to serve this particular story--it doesn't need the bells and whistles of Supermarket Woman or A Taxing Woman or Tampopo, and I think Itami understood that.

7.0/10

Watch my video essay about Juzo Itami here!

Liked this a bit less than the rest of Itami’s catalog so far, but that certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to love here.

For starters, the performance by Nobuko Miyamoto is beautiful and heartbreaking. The cinematography, staging, and blocking are stunning as always. The story threw me for a loop several times. And while I'm sure that my Western ignorance around Japanese customs was impeding my ability to fully understand and grasp this film (I'm still not really sure what a Geisha is...), it was still a profound perspective on a love story mixed with the usual Itami crime subplots.

Also, the humor is still here in spades. At one point, one character talks about how he's able to hang a brass tea kettle off of his erection, and I nearly spit out my drink. The blending of tones is well accomplished here, with the film going to some dark places in the back half, as we see Nayoko being passed around like a piece of property.

Per usual, Itami does struggle with keeping the focus on his female protagonists. There were far too many stretches of this where Nayoko is brushed aside in favor of the political backroom dealings and blackmail, and talk of bank loans. Not that that stuff isn't enthralling to watch unfold, but so often I just want Itami's movies to be HER movies, rather than have her feel like a supporting player in her own story.

The film is less playful in its construction and form than other Itami's. It has its moments here and there, but overall, we sit within scenes longer, the editing is more sparse, and the camera remains static. All of that helps to serve this particular story--it doesn't need the bells and whistles of Supermarket Woman or A Taxing Woman or Tampopo, and I think Itami understood that.

7.0/10

Tsurumaru died.

Tsurumaru died.