Mizoguchi Kenji, born in Tokyo on March 16, 1898, died in Kyoto on August 25, 1956, is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Mizoguchi Kenji made a total of 90 films in his life. In recognition of his contribution to the Japanese film industry, the Japanese government once awarded him the Purple Ribbon Medal, and after his death, he was awarded the fourth-class Ruibao Medal. Mizoguchi Kenji was the biggest winner of the three consecutive Venice Film Festivals from 1952 to 1954.
Director Mizoguchi respects women, and he doesn't care about actors from the record, perhaps because of his sister's influence, he prefers geishas and prostitutes. Because of this preference, there will always be a Yuriko in the background of his movies. In the movie Nishi, Mrs. Nishizuru is "distressed, sad, but full of heat." First, she pursued true love, was driven out of the city, and burdened her family. Later, he was selected as a concubine in a big family, and he was valued by his master to give birth to a son, but was jealous of his wife and rushed back to her natal family. The money-thirsty father sold him to a brothel, and a man named Tianshe wanted to redeem her, but Tianshe was a liar and was later arrested by officials. Ah Chun came to the merchant Tiwu Jiabingwei's house to work as a maid. Kaheibei is a lascivious and has no good intentions towards Achun. After Jiabingwei's wife found out, he drove Achun out of the house. Ah Chun had also had good luck. Mi Ji, the owner of the fan shop, was an honest businessman. He married Ah Chun and let her live a good life. But the good times didn't last long, Mi Ji was killed by a robber on the way out to collect the bills. The desperate Ah Chun had to devote himself to the nun's nunnery. Wen Ji, a friend who met at Tiwu’s house, often came to pick up Ji Achun. Later on suspicion of theft, Wen Ji was also arrested. For this reason, Achun was also kicked out of the Nunnery. Ah Chun was on the street again. She heard that the boy she gave birth to the Songping family had inherited his father's family business. Ah Chun hopes to see her own son, but the Songping family is afraid of harming their reputation, so she is only allowed to look at his son from a distance.
Such a tortuous and bleak life, but she is still warm and tough to survive, the film has also been modified on the basis of the original, in the novel, A Chun married the owner of a fan shop, but was driven out because of flirting with customers. Replaced by Mi Ji's accidental death, this dramatic arrangement strengthened Ah Chun's tragic image. Faced with various persecutions, misfortunes, and a life with ill-fated life, Ah Chun still lives stubbornly.
Although the heroine's experience is very tortuous, there is no particularly strong conflict and external action in the film. However, the creator grasped the powerful and dramatic tension between her tragic life experience and her tenacious attitude towards life, and through meticulous depiction, she created a vivid and typical image of a poor woman, and showed a vastness around this image. His life background effectively reproduces the era of feudal society. Here, the strong and persistent Japanese national spirit concealed under the humble and cautious appearance is manifested through the smooth and condensed film vision. Under the premise of having a deep understanding of the essence of Japanese national culture, the author reproduces the beauty of the Japanese lifestyle through powerful visual expressions. The film's meticulous expression of the Japanese life and communication style reflects the author's profound cultural and artistic skills. For example: The author cleverly used the characteristics of Japanese architecture living on the ground, low walls, sliding doors, and sliding windows. During shooting, he used elevators to move up and down, and walked through walls and courtyards freely, combining with the needs of the actors’ performance and narration. Create a scroll-like beautiful visual effect in the complete lens space.
Respect for women, this is the world of Mizoguchi Kenji.
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