
In early post-war Osaka, three women—war widow Fusako, her Korean expat sister Natsuko, and Kumiko, Fusako's sister-in-law—descend into prostitution, all for their individual reasons.
Release Date: 5/26/1948
Runtime: 74 minutes
Languages: Japanese
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
00Companies: Shochiku
Countries: Japan
CinemaSerf
Sadly, this is an overly convoluted tale that could have done rather more had William Rowland kept his cast focused. As it is, it's a fairly preposterous tale of some die-hard Nazis who may have a secret cosmic ray in the Oriental theatre of War. Determined to keep it from their Japanese allies who have just been victim to the Nagasaki A-bomb, much of the action takes place in a bordello, of sorts, where women have been drafted in from Shanghai University to "entertain" the Japanese officers and who are now bent on vengeance - or at least most of them are. Is there a traitor amongst them? Meantime, one of the German officers might be a spy too? There are far too many sub-plots, the writing is rambling and the performances are nothing much to write home about.

Kōju Murata
Hospital Director

Kinuyo Tanaka
Fusako Owada

Sanae Takasugi
Natsuko Kimijima
Tomie Tsunoda
Kumiko Owada
Mitsuo Nagata
Kenzô Kuriyama

Kōju Murata
Hospital Director

Kumeko Urabe
Brothel Keeper
Kikue Mōri
Second Hand Clothes Shop Proprietres
Minpei Tomimoto
Koji Owada
Umeko Ôbayashi
Tokuko Owada
Hiroshi Aoyama
Kiyoshi Kawakita

Fusako Maki
Pureblood Society Lady
Aizo Tamashima
Women's Home Director
2008