Documentary 2020 75 mins Director: Tamara Mariam Dawit. A constant fixture in critics' polls, Yasujiro Ozu's most enduring masterpiece is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret. This is the story of Mama, a.k.a. Japan has arguably some of the greatest animated films ever released, never be afraid to promote them if you think they are great. Although Keiko doesn't hate her work, she doesn't enjoy it either. Registered charity 287780, Sign up for all the latest news from BFI Player. The Naked Island. Chat with us here: https://discord.gg/ZSbP4ZC, Press J to jump to the feed. Though shot in black and white, its rich visuals provide a luminous depiction of the classy yet … Tamara Dewitt pieces together the mystery of her aunt's disappearance, and her involvement with the Ethiopian Communist party, in this gripping documentary. Golden Globes, "Twin Peaks," World Poll, New "Death Race". Mikio Naruse’s best-known film is a masterful study of Ginza hostess struggling under constant pressures to compromise her honour. All rights reserved. To remind you of how to format your lists to ensure your favourites get more points please remember this is how I am awarding points. But Otsuta ... See full summary », What is the life of a Geisha like once her beauty has faded and she has retired? ( Log Out / The Best TV Shows About Being in Your 30s. To make it a bit easier I decided on doing no more than 1 film per director. Drama 1985 154 mins Director: Akira Kurosawa. Drama 2016 88 mins Director: John Carroll Lynch. Cheers! Super interested to see the results of this. The title "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" refers to Keiko's thoughts as she climbs the stairs that lead to the bar at which she works. Akira Kurosawa’s visually spectacular epic transplants Shakespeare’s King Lear from Celtic Britain to feudal Japan. Now she has reached a turning point in her life. Geishas still wear the traditional costume, whereas the bar hostesses are dressed in western fashion. Unspeakably beautiful and sad. Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki (1960), directed by Mikio Naruse, was shown in the United States under the title "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs." A war widow with a young boy manages a farm with her bossy mother-in-law. Archive propels argument in this fascinating exploration of the social and cultural importance of Japan's film heritage. You do not understand how happy it makes me to see The Wind Rises and Only Yesterday get the love they deserve. The way Mama is at one moment the kindest woman you may have ever seen, and at another cold and uncaring of her closest dependents, is a perfect display of what I mean. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Add the first question. Drama 1954 101 mins Director: Mikio Naruse. Mikio Naruse’s superb, heartrending film is a classic of post-war Japanese cinema. Keiko, a middle-aged bar hostess who must choose to either get married or buy a bar of her own. The on and off-screen character of Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s first international movie star, is explored in this illuminating documentary exploring the life and legacy of this mercurial icon. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Her living depends on smiling, laughing, flattering, and generally making sure everyone has a good time, but at the end of it all she has very little energy left for herself. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. If you are unsure if a film will qualify please say so in your comment and I will happily respond on whether I would be counting it. You are currently reading The Last Days of FilmStruck: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) at CREDO UT INTELLIGAM. Otsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. To open her own bar would mean being trapped in the hostess world forever, condemned to repeat the actions which she despises ever more. EDIT: I had to go back and include a 2nd Ozu film. Title: The other friend doesn't feel well. She remains faithful to the memory of her husband … Sansho the Bailiff. Despite being nearly 50 years old, When A Woman Ascends The Stairs comes across as a thoroughly modern film; but then, the issues it deals with are timeless ones. Takamine struggles to make ends meet and is taken advantage of, used, and left by those around her. In the role of Keiko, Hideko Takamine gives the performance of a lifetime, ably illustrating her distress even whilst she wears a painted smile. A man falls in love with the widow of a man he killed in a car accident. Profiling one of the great directors of World Cinema, Wim Wenders delivers this moving portrait of Japanese auteur Yasujiro Ozu.