The Love of Sumako the Actress

Although he had inate sympathy for geishas and others who suffered from patriarchal injustice, Kenji Mizoguchi was perhaps less astute in his handling of successful females. Consequently, although he stages this biopic of Sumako Matsui with a genuine feel for the Japanese theatre at a time when actresses and western techniques were virtually unknown, he is less certain in his presentation of the melodramatic events surrounding her affair with married director, Hogetsu Shimamura. Kinuyo Tanaka (who emerged as one of Japan's few women directors) was Mizoguchi's favourite collaborator, but even she fails to to breathe life into Hideo Nagata's play.