is a 1954 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...

. It follows four retired

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...

and their struggles to make ends meet in post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Japan. The film is based on three short stories by female author Fumiko Hayashi.

Plot

''Late Chrysanthemums'' interweaves the lives of four retired geisha in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

over a period of four successive days. Kin, the first of the geisha, is a moneylender and a merciless businesswoman, who is insistent upon being repaid by her former geisha sisters Tamae, Tomi and Nobu. Her financial advisor Itaya tries to convince her to buy land in the countryside, as prices are constantly rising. Tamae and Tomi, both former geisha and widows, live together. Tamae is plagued by migraines, and as a result, unable to work as frequently as she would like to as a maid in a hotel. She is also unhappy with her son Kiyoshi's relationship with an older mistress, who pays him for being at her service. Tomi is unable to repay her debts as a result of her addiction to gambling. She laments her daughter Sachiko's upcoming marriage to an older man and tries to persuade her against it. Nobu, the fourth of the geisha, runs a restaurant with her husband, which is frequented by the other women. Seki, a former customer of Kin, who was sent to prison after he had attempted to kill her and commit suicide, tries to borrow money from her, but is quickly turned away. Kin then becomes excited when she hears that ex-soldier Tabe, her former patron and lover, is returning. To her disappointment, Tabe wants to borrow her money as well. She rejects his request and burns his photograph to cut all remaining ties. Tamae and Tomi are eventually left alone when Kiyoshi leaves for

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

for a job and Sachiko moves in with her future husband. Kin hears from Nobu that Seki was arrested for a money-related crime, but shrugs it off. She enters the train with Itaya to inspect property in the countryside which she considers buying.

Cast

Haruko Sugimura was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Biography Sugimura was born in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima. After the death of her parents, ...

as Kin * Chikako Hosokawa as Tamae *

Yūko Mochizuki was a Japanese film and theatre actress who already had long stage experience, first with light comedies, later with dramatic roles, before making her film debut. Mochizuki often appeared in the films of Keisuke Kinoshita, but also worked for pr ...

as Tomi *

Sadako Sawamura was a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 140 films between 1935 and 1985. Her brothers were the actors Daisuke Katō and Kunitarō Sawamura. Her autobiography, ''My Asakusa'', has been translated into English. Sawamura married fellow ...

as Nobu *

Ken Uehara was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1990. He starred in '' Entotsu no mieru basho'', which was entered in the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival. His son is the singer and actor Yūzō Kayama. Sel ...

as Tabe *

Hiroshi Koizumi (12 August 1926 – 31 May 2015) was a Japanese actor, best known for his starring role in the 1955 film '' Godzilla Raids Again'' as well as other Toho Studios monster movies. He was born in Japan. He is a graduate of Keio University in Tokyo. ...

as Kiyoshi *

Ineko Arima Ineko Arima (有馬稲子, Arima Ineko) is a Japanese film actress born on 3 April 1932 in Osaka. She is known for her work with director Yasujirō Ozu. Selected filmography Film Television Honours *Medal with Purple Ribbon are medals a ...

as Sachiko * Bontaro Miake as Seki * Sonosuke Sawamura as Sentaro *

Daisuke Katō was a Japanese actor. He appeared in over 200 films, including Akira Kurosawa's ''Seven Samurai'', ''Rashomon'', '' Yojimbo'', and ''Ikiru''. He also worked repeatedly for noted directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi ...

as Itaya

Literary source

''Late Chrysanthemums'' is based on Fumiko Hayashi's short stories '' Bangiku'' (''Late Chrysanthemum'', 1948), ''Shirasagi'' (1949) and ''Suisen'' (''Narcissus'', 1949). The story ''Bangiku'', on which the episode about the character Kin is based, has been translated into English by Lane Dunlop and is available in the anthology ''A Late Chrysanthemum: Twenty-One Stories from the Japanese''.

Reception

''Late Chrysanthemums'' is often considered one of Naruse's finest works. Keith Uhlich of ''

Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...

'' awarded the film a full four stars and called it "Naruse's most perfect film". It also received four critics' votes in the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

's 2012 ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' poll.

References

External links

* * * {{Mikio Naruse 1954 films 1954 drama films Japanese drama films 1950s Japanese-language films Japanese black-and-white films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Fumiko Hayashi Films set in Japan Films directed by Mikio Naruse Toho films Films about geisha Films produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto Films scored by Ichirō Saitō Films based on multiple works 1950s Japanese films