The Scent of Pheasant's Eye: An Episode of the Tale of Flowers
Being lesbian in Japan? No problem, or so this rarely screened film by Kawate Jirô, now showing in this Cinema Concert edition devoted to Japanese film history, seems to suggest. The relationship between a writer and her sister-in-law provokes heated response… With live narration by the Japanese silent film explicator Ichiro Kataoka.
When writer Kaoru and her sister-in-law Miyoko fall in love with each other, Kaoru”s jealous husband tries to put an end to their relationship by making life difficult for the two women. For his engaging melodrama about a lesbian love affair in 1930s Japan – a revolutionary theme at the time – director Kawate Jirô based himself on a story by the lesbian author Yoshiya Nobuko (1896-1973).
The Scent of Pheasant's Eye is one of the few films by Jirô still in circulation. The Japanese director debuted in 1932 and worked for the Toho Studios from 1936, to turn to a career in real estate – that was the end of Jirô as a filmmaker.
The presence of the famous Kataoka Ichiro, a benshi, a specially trained explicator and actor who will provide live narration, is guaranteed to make this a special evening. Ichiro is one of only ten explicators in Japan dedicated to keeping this tradition alive. Kevin Toma will accompany him on piano.
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