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Gion bayashi (1953)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
11 June 1978 (USA) morePlot:
In the post-war Gion district of Kyoto, the geisha Miyoharu agrees to apprentice the 16 year-old Eiko... more | add synopsisAwards:
2 wins moreUser Comments:
The Secret Heart of an Imperfect Film moreCast
(Credited cast)| Michiyo Kogure | ... | Miyoharu | |
| Ayako Wakao | ... | Eiko | |
| Seizaburô Kawazu | ... | Kusuda | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Saburo Date | ... | Imanishi | |
| Sumao Ishihara | ... | Kokichi | |
| Midori Komatsu | ... | Oume | |
| Kanji Koshiba | ... | Kanzaki | |
| Kikue Môri | ... | Domestic arts teacher | |
| Chieko Naniwa | ... | Okimi | |
| Eitarô Shindô | ... | Sawamoto | |
| Ichirô Sugai | ... | Saeki | |
| Haruo Tanaka | ... | Ogawa | |
| Emiko Yanagi | ... | Kaname | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
85 min | Argentina:90 minCountry:
JapanLanguage:
JapaneseColour:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Argentina:13Fun Stuff
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Gion bayashi (1953)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Relation between the two women -spoilers | circus14 |
| Release this film on DVD! | Timo_Styles |
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There may be an element of atonement in Mizoguchi's films about exploited women. It is most powerful in "Street of Shame" but plays a role in "Gion bayashi" as well. The exploiters are bad indeed, though Mizoguchi gives them humanizing motivations; the exploited, while not too good to be true, are much better than most of the people I know.
What makes this visually beautiful film unforgettable and worthy of repeated viewing is, first, the evolving relationship between Older and Younger Sister, which is sufficiently imitative of life to satisfy the most rigorous champion of Kurosawa's "Lower Depths." As life happens, these two women evolve. It is this evolution which is the secret heart of "Gion Festival Music." Second, importantly, it is the nuanced, understated, but heroic performance of Michiyo Kogure as Miyoharu. Her artistry becomes manifest when her character portrait here is compared to her equally successful role of Taeko in Ozu's "Flavor of Green Tea over Rice," made the year before. The two women could not be more different, and she accomplishes the differences with bare flickers of change across her face and almost imperceptible alterations in body language.
These qualities inspire me to forgive the overly schematic plot and excessively contrasting portraits of the very good and the very bad.
At the end "Gion Festival Music," "A Geisha," or whatever title translation one wishes to use, is not principally about the cruel exploitation of women. The film has a secret. It is a love story. And I love this movie.