The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zangiku monogatari
Directed by	Kenji Mizoguchi
Written by	Shôfû Muramatsu (novel) Matsutarô Kawaguchi Yoshikata Yoda
Starring	Shôtarô Hanayagi Kôkichi Takada Gonjurô Kawarazaki
Music by	Shirô Fukai Senji Itô
Cinematography	Yozô Fuji Minoru Miki
Editing by	Koshi Kawahigashi
Distributed by	Films Inc.
Release date(s)	October 13, 1939
Running time	142 min.
Language	Japanese
IMDb profile

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (残菊物語, Zangiku monogatari^?), 1939) is a Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.

The film is regarded as one of Mizoguchi's greatest pre-war achievements. Especially notable is Mizoguchi's now mature mis-en-scene compositions and extreme long takes.

[edit] Synopsis

The film is set in Japan in 1885. Kikunosuke Onoue, played in his movie debut by the stage actor Shotaro Hanayagi, is the adoptive son of a famous Kabuki actor, who is training to succeed his father in an illustrious career. While hypocritically praising Onoue's acting to his face, the rest of his father's troupe deride him behind his back. Otoku (Kakuko Mori), the young wet-nurse of Onoue's adoptive father's infant son, is the only one frank enough to disclose his artistic shortcomings and urge him to improve himself. When Otoku is dismissed by Onoue's family for her closeness to the young master, with its potential for scandal, Onoue is outraged and leaves Tokyo to hone his art away from his father, much to the latter's wrath.

Otuko eventually joins Onoue as his common law wife and encourages him, through many difficult times, to persevere with his career. When Onoue finally has his chance to join a famed Tokyo troupe, and establish himself as a nationally renowned Kabuki actor, Otoku (unknown to Onoue) sacrifices their relationship to enable Onoue to seize this opportunity and reconcile with his father. Though ultimately Onoue's father accepts Otoku as Onoue's wife, this reconciliation comes only when she is already on her deathbed with tuberculosis – like the wilting chrysanthemums of late fall, she dies at the moment of her husband's theatrical triumph.