Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (1939)
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Bristling with passion, Mizoguchi's film is a true find: a heartbreaker to end them all. Tokyo, 1885: a Kabuki actor of little self-awareness offends his famous father and transgresses tradition by insisting on his love for his brother's nurse. Trapped by the father's refusal to countenance the affair, dragged together into ignominy, she realises that only through her self-sacrifice can her love reclaim his familial glory. As the plot twists inexorably round their doomed affair, it says much more by showing less: an eloquently long tracking shot can follow remarkably understated scenes of intense emotion so that tears flow as if by magic. Unashamed sentimentality and anger controlled by extreme formal precision justify its reputation as the peak of Mizoguchi's film-making. DMacp.Author: DMacp
Cast & crew
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Producer: Nobutaro Shirai
Cast: Shotaro Hanayagi, Kakuko Mori, Kokichi Takada, Gonjuro Kawarazaki, Yoko Umemura full cast
Duration: 143 mins
Top Stories
Ben Drew aka Plan B interview
The singer, rapper and now film director discusses his debut film 'Ill Manors'
Cannes Film Festival 2012: final round-up
Dave Calhoun draws the curtain on the world's greatest film festival
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
What do you think?
Post your review now