Ornamental Hairpin
Hiroshi Shimizu / JP, 1941 / 75 min.
Two bruised souls embark upon a tender, hesitant romance in this poignant, playful love story. A soldier has to extend his stay in a rural spa when he injures his foot on the titular hairpin. He soon tracks down its lovely owner – and falls for her.
Shimizu's film about a colourful group of holidaymakers staying in a spa for the summer starts out as a comedy, then almost unnoticed shifts to become a poignant drama. Great actor Chishu Ryu (known mostly for his work with Ozu) plays a soldier wounded in the foot when he steps on a hairpin in the communal bath. He finds out that the pin was left there by a young woman, played by Kinuya Tanaka (known for her work with Mizoguchi).
Details
Director
Hiroshi Shimizu
Production year
1941
Country
JP
Original title
Kanzashi
Length
75 min.
Language
Japanese
Subtitles
ENG
Format
35mm
Part of
Shochiku 100
Yasujiro Ozu, Masaki Kobayashi, Takeshi Kitano: the masters of Japanese cinema. But did you know that their work was made possible by Shochiku? In 2022 Eye is marking over one hundred years of one of Japan’s oldest, and largest, film companies.
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