Sisters of the Gion (1936) User Reviews

A fascinating picture of pre-war Japan

[howard.schumann · 8/10 · 1 December 2003]

Considered to be one of the best pre-war films by the acclaimed Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi, Sisters of the Gion is a story of two sisters, both Geisha girls in the Gion section of Kyoto, who have very different attitudes toward men. Umekichi (Yoko Umemura) is traditional and loyal to her patrons while her sister Omocha (Isuzu Yamada) is a pragmatist who uses men to her advantage even if it means deception and lies. Ultimately it seems to make no difference as both girls are trapped in an existence that provides little satisfaction. Running just over an hour, this is a lovely film that presents a fascinating portrait of Japanese life before the war showing streets that look like narrow passageways, elevated tatami rooms used for drinking tea and smoking pipes, and buildings no higher than two stories.

In the film, Umekichi is devoted to a bankrupt businessman, Shimbei Furusawa (Benkei Shiganoya) who comes to live with them after an argument with his wife. Omocha is unhappy with this arrangement, telling Umekichi she should have no use for a man who doesn't support them. She convinces an antique dealer Jurakuso (Fumio Okura) to give her money to pay off Furusawa so that Jurakuso can become Umekichi's patron, but she ends up pocketing half of the money herself. On hearing that he is in love with her, Omocha persuades Kimura (Taizo Fukami), a textile clerk, to steal the company's materials to enable her sister to wear an acceptable kimono for a party of wealthy patrons.

The destiny of the two sisters reaches its inevitable conclusion when the store clerk is fired and exacts his revenge on Omocha, and when Furusawa suddenly leaves Umekichi to become a manager of a rayon company. While Mizoguchi's film is a protest against the specific conditions of women in pre-war Japan, Sisters of the Gion strikes a universal chord in its compelling depiction of the sad results of treating human beings as marketable commodities.

Good early Mizoguchi

[Tashtago · 7/10 · 16 February 2011]

I've just recently discovered Mizoguchi when I watched Ugetsu. That film stunned me and I felt haunted by it for several days. I would rank it among the great Japanese masterpieces such as Seven Samurai and Tokyo Story. This pre-war Mizoguchi has an incredible maturity and sophisticated characterization that surprised me. Most viewers will think that the younger sister is lying, conniving, and manipulative but on further reflection one realizes that most of the characters are deceptive and hypocritical in very self serving ways. It sounds serious and it is, but there are moments of humour as well. Plus, the mid-30's Kyoto setting is a fascinating time capsule. If you are a fan of Mizoguchi or Japanese films I highly recommend checking this movie out.

Mizoguchi Explores the Darker Side of the Geisha

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 20 December 2013]

Umekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when he asks to stay with her after becoming bankrupt and leaving his wife. However her younger sister Omocha tells her she is wasting her time and money on a loser.

Here we have another film by Mizogucki looking at "fallen women", much like "Street of Shame" twenty years later, and to some degree "Osaka Elegy". But we also have a tale of the old and the new -- looking to the West and also sticking with tradition. This is especially interesting given the radical shift in Japanese culture after World War II.

I have not seen the remake and thus cannot compare them, but how do you top the work of Mizoguchi? You simply cannot.

An uninhibitedly feminist film !!!

[avik-basu1889 · 9/10 · 12 January 2017]

When reviewing Kenji Mizoguchi's 'Sisters of the Gion', the first and foremost thing that I have to talk about is the film's portrayal of exploited women and their sorry plight. For a film made in 1936, the film is astonishingly progressive. Mizoguchi leaves no stone unturned in showing the viewer how tough the life of a geisha was. The men whom we see engage with the sisters Omocha and Umekichi, though played by different actors are made to look very similar appearance wise and I think that was a specific choice on the part of Mizoguchi. Mizoguchi's approach to telling this story has a distinct boldness to it with a hopelessness simmering underneath. The protagonist Omocha is not a submissive character whose pain and suffering is supposed to convey the message. Instead, she is a feisty pragmatic rebel who played the game the way it is without being obstructed by any sense of morality. The feminist message is supposed to be conveyed by the fact that even fighting the system isn't enough to escape the exploitation and the abuse. These women would still continue to be treated as commodities.

What struck me about Mizoguchi's direction and visual style is his meticulous use of space in a particular frame. He sits on a frame, there is very minimal editing and he uses tracking shots quite a bit. He uses the 'frame within a frame' composition(also found in Renoir's films) quite a bit by placing characters in the background while others being in the foreground and pretty much each and every one of these visual choices serves a thematic purpose, be it conveying the difference in mindsets of Omocha and Umekichi or showing a man being lured in by Omocha's manipulation,etc. Another thing I noticed is Mizoguchi's reluctance in using too many close-ups. The close-ups in the film are used very sparsely and economically.

Due to its runtime, the film is a little light on character development or backstory, but the nuanced nature of using visuals to tell a story really impressed me. It is clear in its agenda and Mizoguchi is bold enough to express his ideas with conviction.

The Dregs

[Meganeguard · 9/10 · 19 January 2007]

While I have of course heard the name Mizoguchi Kenji, the only films of his that I have watched are Ugetsu (1953) and The New Tale of the Heike (1955) and while I did enjoy both of them, mainly the former, for the most part I did not have a particularly strong interest in watching Mizoguchi's films because at the time I was embroiled within the filmic worlds of Kitano Takeshi, Iwai Shunji, Miike Takashi, etc. However, as time passed my interest in older Japanese films began to increase, so now I am trying to broaden my knowledge of classic Japanese films, especially those that were filmed before 1945 of which I have only seen a handful.

Mizoguchi is well known in the world of Japanese film, because he was one of the first Japanese directors to put the role of women in Japanese society on the center stage. He is often criticized by later film viewers and critics because his women, while strong, only could find true security in the world of men by adaptation to the males around them. However, of course, it should be noted that for his time the films he created were quite different than the casual fare. Like Imamura Shohei, Mizoguchi Kenji tended to make films about those in the lower strata of society and the ways in which the rich can destroy these individuals' lives.

Sisters of Gion tells the story of Umekichi and Omocha an older and younger geisha trying to make the best of their lives in a time in which the patronage of geisha is on the downswing. Gentle and kind, Umekichi takes in her lover Furusawa after his business goes bankrupt. She states that she only does so because she owes him for helping her become a full fledged geisha, but it is obvious that she loves the destitute ma. Omocha, young, better educated, and brash dislikes Furusawa because he is sponging off Umekichi and decides that she needs to be rid of him. However, her methods might lead to a bad conclusion.

A wonderful film that clocks in at a little less than seventy minutes, Sisters of Gion has a dark theme. Both Umekichi and Omocha, while being of complete different personalities, are both victims of their positions in society. Without a rich patron to depend on, their lives are quite vicarious, and as in the case of Umekichi, as the women get older their positions become even more precarious.

Not One Of His Best

[crossbow0106 · 7/10 · 1 May 2008]

This film is about geishas on Kyoto, Japan, in how they live and ply their trade. Since it was made by Mr. Mizoguchi, who seemed to have a fascination with prostitutes, it is right up his alley. While good, the story did not completely grab me like some of his others, especially "Street Of Shame" and "Ugetsu". The film's success is in the message it portrays as to these ladies, that they are somewhat trapped in their existence with no way out, broke and looking for a patron to take them out of that life. However, I did not find the characters to be as developed as I would have liked, so the film loses steam, even though it is a fairly short film, much less than ninety minutes. Still worth watching, it just doesn't have the depth of some of his other films.

Mizoguchi creates a tiny universe with a few characters that somehow manages to maintain in balance

[mikeluriarte · 10/10 · 11 January 2020]

Mizoguchi creates a tiny universe with a few characters that somehow manages to maintain in balance throughout the entire film. This is achieved because every character feels real, that means they can be right and wrong and there is not a single character that has the absolute truth. Very simple filmmaking precisely thought out. With no ostentation the director decides to stay in the shade and put the story and characters in the spotlight.

After watching It on DVD a couple of years ago, I got to see It on the big screen thanks to the Bilbao Art House Zinema.

A quiet classic

[rufasff · 1 May 2003]

In the early days of film writing "Sisters" was often cited as one of the great films EVER; it is probably right that this quiet, measured film is now not viewed as such.

Still, I found it held my interest easily and was effecting. The acting is admirable, and the sadness of the women's plight are expressed without sentiment. Well worth seeing; 8 out of 10.

Sisters ofnthe Gion review

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 21 April 2020]

A poor geisha tries to rid her modest home of the bankrupt businessman her sister feels obliged to support. A superior drama from Mizoguchi which explores similar themes to Osaka Elegy, his other film from 1936. The plight of the geishas, who rely on the 'patronage' of older businessmen to survive, is handled with sensitivity, and the movie never condemns the pushy younger sister for the lengths she goes to in order to make a better life for herself.

One of Mizoguchi's first masterpieces

[fa-oy · 9/10 · 16 November 2011]

I'm surprised by the fact that Mizoguchi was doing this kind of filmmaking and a strong criticism on geisha's lives in those years already. It must have been really innovative at the time and, for the same reason, it might probably not have been appreciated by most of the audience. I find it ironic because now it has aged considerably, that it is also hard to appreciate by today's standards. In order to fully comprehend its content, one would have to watch it with an open mind and submerge into its time. Also, the print quality might not be good, which is yet another obstacle that may keep viewers from appreciating the film as well. Fortunately, I was able to get hold of a high quality print, and it is also a great privilege to behold Mizoguchi's filmmaking techniques; I for one consider them to be of great importance in cinema history.

The story concerns two geisha sisters who live in a neighborhood known as Gion, in Kyoto. They are very different from each other; one side is influenced by a more modernized mindset, whilst the other is still rooted in traditional manners. This existing contrast will slowly unravel as the film goes on.

Technically, the film is outstanding for its time. We have that riveting tracking shot at the beginning of the film that thoroughly advances through the house of the patron of one of our two protagonists. Subsequently, you'll find yourself immersed in the many sequence shots the film is divided in.

If you're fond of Japanese cinema, you should definitely watch this forgotten gem.

My score: 8.8/10

a 'message' movie that sneaks up on you with clever direction

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 25 March 2011]

The characters in Sisters of Gion are trapped, but like many women in a Japan of that era, which was... well, for a while up until 1936 and beyond. Particularly that of the Geisha, whose lives would have to revolve around men who would want them to "do things" for them; not simply sexual, though there was that, but just to take care of them, and buy things for them, etc. So in this story, Mizoguchi has a character, Omocha (Isuzu Yamada) who looks at her lot and life and doesn't like it, and tries to tell her much more submissive sister Umekichi the same. So she spends most of this story swindling a guy with a kimono mostly at the expense of a lower-rung guy who is staying with them, Furusawa, who lost his business. Not so much cause she's a bad person (she isn't) but just as the guy and who he's with kind of deserve it.

The story moves along at a fairly good pace, especially considering how short it is at 69 minutes (though according to IMDb the version available through the Eclipse DVD series is the shortened cut, a few times it does show), and it's pretty good... not great, mind you, but good. Some, or I should say most, of the dialog is a little too on-the-nose about the points it wants to make, even near the end when Mizoguchi really gains momentum with his story and the male-female dynamics of this society. And yet by the end it is powerful and moving, in some part because of how strongly he directs the film; those shots that kind of take deep focus looking down an alleyway that is kind of narrow, closing in on the characters, or how long he stays on a shot (he was all about the long takes too), almost like there's no escape for these girls.

So, do come for the feminism on display, which could be seen as overwrought or dated but only because it's 1936 and for its time is powerful - and stay for some elegant direction, some wonderful acting (watch the scene where Omocha has the guy over who is there on official matters, kind of to scold him for how she treated his employee, but then softens up when she serves Sake), and a couple of moments of good music, however sparse. 7.5/10

I know this must be considered a classic, but I didn't particularly enjoy it---though it was very well made.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 16 February 2013]

"Sisters of Gion" is a Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It apparently must be very well thought of, as it's part of a set of Mizoguchi films in a DVD set from the artsy Criterion Collection. While I could see the artistry of the cinematography, I wasn't super-impressed by the story. It left me a bit flat.

When the film begins, it looks a bit like a Yasujirô Ozu film because the camera in set at a level about that of a person sitting on the floor. And, like Ozu, the camera lens does not move back or forth.--it's a stationary box. But, unlike Ozu, while the cameraman does not move the camera, it does move on a track--making for an incredibly interesting opening shot. In fact, the film is full of interesting shots--with unusual angles, composition and depth. It's almost like the camera is a tiny one that is peeking into rooms--and it's very nice--probably the nicest looking Japanese cinematography from this era that I have seen.

Now the story of "Sisters of Gion" ("Gion No Shimai") is not particularly enjoyable--mostly because the folks in it aren't particularly likable and the story is only mildly interesting--except, perhaps, to someone wanting insight into the role of women in 1930s Japan. This aspect of the film is unusual--how one woman embraces power and her sister embraces conventionality and kindness. It's obvious the film was not meant as a feel-good film but a sad portait of the lives of women in the lower classes.

A man has just lost his business and moves in with the geisha he used to sponsor. You might have felt sorry for him, but in the process he left his family and seemed very self-involved. This geisha he goes to is a very nice and dutiful woman, as she is under no obligation to take him in but she does. However, her younger sister, also a geisha, is rather conniving and VERY practical. She will get a wealthy sponsor one way or another. This, ultimately, leads to a rather interesting relationship with Mr. Kimura--but you'll have to see that for yourself. I'd say that the acting, camera-work and direction were good. But I just didn't care a lot for the characters or their problems--though the story was darkly compelling and provocative.

A deception for me

[maurazos · 6/10 · 8 January 2007]

I agree the comment written by Zetes. The film does not show the quality one expect to find in a Kenji Mizoguchi's film. This movie has definitely nothing to do with "Ugetsu", "Shansho", the monumental "Zangiku monogatari" (made in the 30's, as "Gion no shimai"), or even "Gion no bayashi", closer to "Gion no shimai" in subject and spirit. All those films are the ones I recommend for this exceptional Japanese director, specially "Gion no bayashi" for those interested on the life and troubles of geishas in 20th century Kyoto. In this movie I just see a not very intense plot, but with the usual Mizoguchi's moralist and (maybe) feminist message. Definitely, this film is not one of his best productions.

I'd bet that I'm in the minority, but I just found this one a bore

[zetes · 5/10 · 11 September 2002]

A bust. As disinterested as I often am in Mizoguchi's films, Sisters of the Gion effectively knocked me unconscious. Some of the acting seemed decent, as did some of the direction. The opening shots were great. But then it slows down to a crawl that I just couldn't withstand. This is the first of his films that I was just not able to take. The couple of Mizoguchi films that I really like are Life of Oharu and Sansho the Bailiff (and Ugetsu's pretty good, as well), so if you haven't seen those ones, do so. 5/10.

Another Mizoguchi meditation on "fallen women"

[MissSimonetta · 9/10 · 24 March 2016]

While not as brilliant as Mizoguchi's previous film from that year Osaka Elegy (1936), Sisters of the Gion (1936) is far from a bad follow-up. Like its predecessor, the film examines the way women in Japanese society were often treated like second class citizens, restricted by the sexual double standard.

Isuzu Yamada and Yoko Umemura play two lower-class sisters who work as geisha. Yamada's character is outspoken in her discontentment and views men as "enemies." She decides to fleece her clients for all they've got so she can get by. Umemura's character is more traditional and submissive. An optimist, she tries her best to be kind to the men she works for. In the end, neither sister's approach lands them any happiness; in fact, you could say they end up worse than ever.

Like Osaka Elegy, the film's conclusion is ambiguous and harrowing, with no resolution offered. More than Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion is an angry film, though it does possess enough humor and compassion to keep it from being merely that. It may not be Mizoguchi's best film, but it is worth your time.

Sad but interesting portrait of women and geisha culture in pre-war Japan

[jamesrupert2014 · 8/10 · 27 February 2024]

Umekichi and her younger sister Omocha live in the Gion district of Kyoto in the years leading up to WW2. The older woman is a formally trained, traditionalist geisha who believes that there is a place for honour and loyality in her profession, while her mercenary younger sister, who wears 'western' styles (when not working), despises the men who patronise geishas and has no reservations about taking advantage of them whenever the opportunity arises. The film has a strong misandrous vibe as director/writer Kenji Mizoguchi clearly sides with the women: the men in the film are a unpleasant mix of brutal, dishonest, grasping, hypocritical, mean-spirited, and weak. The cinematography is great and the story, if a bit melodramatic and predictable at times, is interesting. As the titular contrasting pair, Isuzu Yamada and Yoko Umemura are very good (in 1957 Yamada played Lady Asaji Washizu, the incredibly creepy Lady MacBeth character in 'Throne of Blood'). Knowing little about geisha culture, I found the film fascinating, especially fin the context of Japan in the transitional pre-war period when western styles and attitudes were spreading (the combination of a yukata and a fedora makes for an odd fashion-fusion). Watched in a DVD with English subtitles.

The two sides of the street....

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 8 February 2018]

Master Mizogushi placed on screen two different kind of look of the gueishas's world, although they are sisters, the older is more wise and understanding about his position, the younger is more cold having in the men just a way to get an easy money, handling according her will, actually she hates them, along the movie the viewers will see two side of the street in two human being whose the life hurt too hard, nice piece of art of study of human nature!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

A Surprising Feminist Commentary on Traditional Japanese Society

[Raptorclaw155 · 8/10 · 13 June 2020]

Like many films of its time, this is a slow buildup with a payoff that is as surprising as it is subvertive. Following two Geisha sisters in their struggle to find success in the tough and declining business of being a Geisha, each sister has a different method which are fundamentally different in philosophy from one another. Sisters of the Gion is masterful in its execution of this kind of story. Coming from this particular era in Japanese history, politically, it's surprising that this kind of film with the expression of its ideas was allowed to be distributed and survived the war - but it's good that it did.

Sisters of the Gion offers an excellent commentary on the idealized view the Geishas and the role they play in Japanese society and raising questions of their actual value in that society. Its ending is still quite potent even for being a film from 1936, and maybe even more potent because it's as old as it is.

The performances in this film help to enhance its themes as the performances feel very authentic and believable. There are few, if any, instances of overacting and all of the character interactions feel very genuine.

There is something to be said about a film that includes social commentary in it, but it takes a special kind of execution that really brings it into the next level. Maybe the film's ending is a bit neutered by having its commentary explicitly narrated to the audience by one of the characters but it still doesn't lose its impact, and for a film of its age, I think that aspect of the ending is forgivable. It's definitely a film I would recommend.

Funny story

[mieriks · 7/10 · 19 March 2024]

This movie, about two geisha sisters who lead a hard life in the Gion district of Kyoto, is a good drama movie!

I personally do not have much to say about it. The movie is not amazing or incredible for my part, but it has some funny moments where the main plot is the most compelling element. It feels slow at times, but fortunately, it is quite short to be a feature film, and it is also nicely shot and the actors do good. I am glad I took it a visit because I had a good time!

Despite not being a masterpiece, this movie is a good drama with humor and a strong plot. Solid acting and visuals make it worth a watch.

Early Masterpiece by Kenji Mizoguchi on the Plight of Japanese Women

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 30 August 2023]

The Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s was largely dominated by three directors, Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. The most experienced of the three was Mizoguchi, directing over 90 silent movies before he tackled his first talkie in 1936's 'Osaka Elegy.' When he directed his follow-up, October 1936 "Sisters of the Gion," Mizoguchi was comfortably settled in describing the plight of the Japanese women in the country's male-dominated society. His secone talkie has been acknowledged as his early masterpiece, In all his previous films, Mizoguchi said it was "Sisters of the Gion" and his other film, 'Osaka Elegy,' that he reached his artistic maturity. Both shared the same actors, script writer (Yoshikata Yoda), and production team. Noted Japanese film critic Tadashi Iijima claimed "Sisters of the Gion" is "the best prewar sound film" in his country.

The title refers to the geisha, or entertainment district of the city of Kyoto, which offered companionship to both married and single men. Two sisters, the older Umekichi (Yoko Umemura), and the younger educated Omocha (Isuzu Yamada) look at men differently. Umekichi possesses the traditional view of the geisha through her classical geisha training and her kimono dress, signifying that loyalty to her patron is paramount. Omocha takes the modern, more cynical view of men and sees them only as tools to manipulate. Both get hurt practicing their separate philosophies, Umekichi psychologically by her sticking with her down-and-out patron, only to see him return to his wife, while Omacha gets hurt physically by being thrown out of a speeding car by one of her frustrated customers/lovers.

"Unlike western films from the same era, Mizoguchi dispenses with careful transitions, jumping the storyline forward by cutting directly from one important dramatic even to the next," says film critic Glenn Erickson. The director's stories are bare and simple, yet they convey layers of meaning that could fill volumes. As simple as Mitzoguchi's narratives are, his camera placements are just as uncomplicated. The director's trademark camera placement is likened to a spy, describes film critic David Phelps, "peeking in behind bars and curtains and doorways (framing shots diagrammatically on left or right), watching unobserved, waiting, as characters eat and drink and shuffle in and out, for the action to happen. In this, it's like so many Mizoguchi characters peering into private spaces." His sets are spare: in "Sisters of the Gion," the two siblings are shown in sparsely furnished rooms.

The Japanese magazine Kinema Junpo awarded "Sisters of the Gion" the best movie for the year. Unfortunately, the Japanese motion picture didn't fare well at the box office, where its distributor, Shochiku, didn't aggressively market it enough to the theaters. The movie studio funding the picture, Daiichi Studio, went bankrupt after the film's release, forcing Mizoguchi to seek employment. He found a position at, of all places, the Shochiku Company, the distributor for his masterpiece.

Primitive Even By Past Contemporary Standards. However ... .

[net_orders · 2/10 · 29 July 2016]

Viewed on DVD. Far from a classic. Inferior script and direction--it seems to have confused gold diggers with Geishas. Muddy sight and sound (although the print seems to have been restored significantly). Sound is so bad that dialogue is about 95% unintelligible (even for those who can understand a bit of Japanese)--but subtitles are clear and concise. Shot like a stage play with predominance of medium and long shots (there are, maybe, 2-3 close-ups showing what the actors really look like!). "Exterior" shots look phony and likely to have been shot on a sound stage. Film ends abruptly--money problems or saving the rest for a sequel? This film is more a historical curiosity than entertainment. However, restoration enthusiasts should consider adding it to their "things to do" list. The film is historic and could greatly benefit from further restoration efforts. I encourage the film restoration community to give this film further consideration. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.