Kenji Mizoguchi's Life of Oharu is the tragic, humanistic tale of, well, the life of a woman named Oharu. Born into luxury, she errs with a man of lower class. For this offense, she is exiled along with her parents, convicted of letting their child run wild. As the film progresses, Oharu goes through about a thousand hardships - hell, any normal person would have killed herself after experiencing just the first of Oharu's hardships! Life of Oharu is very heavy, but it avoids emotional manipulation. It even has a couple of humorous moments. If you doubt me, watch the scene where the jealous wife pesters her husband, trying to force him to admit that he first met Oharu at a brothel. The man is being shaved by his personal barber, and his wife keeps riding up on his side. So the husband lifts his mirror and walks a few spaces away, just to have his wife sidle up right against him again! The climax to this particular episode (the part with the cat, if you're confused) is also quite humorous. Still, most of the film is heart-rending. It's also amazingly directed by Mizoguchi. His camera movement is exquisite, absolutely exquisite. I was left a little disappointed in Sansho the Bailiff, often said to be his best film, but the direction of Oharu is original and masterful. The acting is also wonderful. 10/10.
Review of The Life of Oharu
