Miss Oyu

Miss Oyu (1951) is a Kenji Mizoguchi film that is an adaptation of a Junichiro Tanizaki story, "The Reed Cutter." I am sure I've read the story, but it was so long ago I don't remember whether or not Mizoguchi and his screenwriter Yoshitaka Yoda did justice to it. However, it feels as though it is too chaste of a treatment from the likes of Tanizaki ,who was known for his penchant for unconventional sex and death. Furthermore, there is lots of melodrama in the story, but I don't think the story is the real draw here, instead it is Mizoguchi's artistry with light and dark, exquisite framing within Japanese houses as well as gorgeous location scenes outdoors. Mizoguchi draws visual interest to the spectator's eye irrevocably towards the focus of dramatic interest with the action and the precision of the mise en scène arranged by the director. Kinyu Tanaka stars as the ill-fated Miss Oyu and would go onto have her greatest success with Mizoguchi, culminating in The Life of Ohara.