The sisters of Gion

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Movie
German title The sisters of Gion
Original title 祇 園 の 姉妹; Gion no shimai
Country of production Japan
original language Japanese
Publishing year 1936
length 69 minutes
Rod
Director Kenji Mizoguchi
script Kenji Mizoguchi,
Yoshikata Yoda
production Masaichi Nagata
camera Minoru Miki
cut Tatsuko Sanake
occupation

The Sisters of Gion from the year 1936 is a company study by Kenji Mizoguchi .

action

The film tells the story of two sisters, both geishas , but with very different attitudes towards their profession. The older one, Umekichi, is very fond of tradition and therefore remains loyal to her patron Shimbei Furusawa even when he goes bankrupt and becomes impoverished. Her younger sister Omocha, on the other hand, does not care much about loyalty and traditional norms and tries to be endured by as many men as possible. Again and again she tries to convince her older sister to do the same. But Omocha goes too far and ends up in the hospital after an argument with a jealous suitor, while Umekichi is abandoned by Furusawa. When the two sisters meet again in the hospital, however, it becomes clear that neither of the two can be dissuaded from their beliefs and their way of life.

background

Using the example of the two different sisters, Mizoguchi illustrates the cultural and social contrasts in Japan in the 1930s, which was torn between the old traditions and all the modern, western influences that stormed the country within a few decades and completely transformed it . He remains true to his line of viewing the family as a microcosm of society and putting women at the center of his films. Together with the film Osaka Elegy , produced in the same year, “The Sisters of Gion” is Mizoguchi's first great masterpiece, both of which mark the beginning of the long collaboration with the screenwriter Yoshikata Yoda .

Despite the high artistic value and the controversial subject, “The Sisters of Gion” was not a financial success. Although the production of the film only took a few weeks, the production company Daiichi Eiga went bankrupt, which was also attributed to a boycott of the distribution company.

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