A Geisha's Diary
Yuzo Kawashima / JP, 1961 / 99 min.
Initially, a geisha in Tokyo aims to please her clients. Gradually she notices her emotions shift and wonders what she wants from life. Rediscovered gem full of playful visual surprises and acute social commentary. New 4K restoration.
Koen is a geisha who does her utmost to please her clients. She enthusiastically does what she is told. Gradually, she notices a change in herself as she adopts a different perspective on herself.
A Geisha's Diary switches between the isolated world of brothels and images of post-war Japanese society providing accurate social commentary by revealing the hypocrisy inherent in geisha life while prostitution is illegal.
Yuzo Kawashima is a director who deserves to be discovered by a whole new generation of cinephiles. “Something happened in the inner human experience. We don’t know what that was, but something definitely happened. That is the theme of this film.” – Yuzo Kawashima
New 4K restoration (Kadokawa)
images: © Kadokawa Corporation
This is part of
Details
Director
Yuzo Kawashima
Production year
1961
Country
JP
Original title
Onna wa nido umareru
Length
99 min.
Language
Japanese
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP
Part of
The Elegant Beasts of Yuzo Kawashima
Japanese director Yuzo Kawashima is seen as the ‘missing link’ between the classic Japanese cinema of the ’50s and the New Wave of the ’60s. He had a highly developed sense of the absurd, and in his films fought against hypocrisy and false facades.
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