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Class Relations in Osaka; A discussion on Heinosuke Gosho's An Inn at Osaka
Topic Started: Apr 16 2014, 07:23 PM (804 Views)
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Heinosuke Gosho's An Inn at Osaka, one of the greatest films of the 50s, dwells on many familiar archetypes from the Japanese cinema -- earnest salarymen, geishas, the exploited working classes -- and builds a network of social hierarchies and dependencies that are emphasized, at times with harsh, blunt illustrations (the young girl with the ailing father forced to offer her body), and at other times with more indirect suggestions (the suicide of the protagonist's debt-ridden university colleague). It never pulls any punches in bringing out these social inequalities, yet derives most of its poetry from the unlikely mesh of friendships, hesitant relationships forged that gradually supersede class lines and are visibly transformative for the individuals involved, impregnated with possibilities of rejuvenation in the face of oppressive social mores and economic realities.

The geisha as clown

Nobuko Otowa's Uwabami is, in many ways, the beating heart of the film, a predominantly comic performance of alternately broad gestures and suggestive glances that's not only filled with poignancy but also has the singular characteristic of bringing whatever scene she enters into a state of mild disequilibrium, with an easy-going, yet defiant attack on conventionality and dogma. (The tone is set with the sequence that introduces her character, drunk and abruptly breaking into song, the former a delightfully recurring habit, as subsequent vignettes reveal.)

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A wonderful contrast to similar characters from other Japanese films -- who are often at the receiving end of the worst kind of exploitation and brutality -- Otowa's geisha, the nature of her profession notwithstanding, dominates exchanges (save, perhaps, her shy attempts at initiating romance with Shuji Sano's Mita), and causes scenes to capsize in unpredictable ways, often leaving sleazy, venal men with sake on their faces.

Food, drink and the dignity of laughter

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Primarily through the character of Uwabami, and also through his delineation of the gradually developing friendship between Mita and the two maids working at the inn, Gosho hints at the regenerative power of laughter, mutual understanding and in addition, food and drink; outside of the scenes with Otowa, the visit to the castle, with Mita and the maids ribbing each other about their respective love lives over an outdoors lunch is an example.

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The culminating dinner scene further highlights these associations, and must rank, by any standard, as one of the glories of cinema. While decidedly bittersweet in tone -- Mita notes that the motley bunch are not only sharing a meal, but also unhappiness -- it nevertheless feels triumphal, the material act of nourishment and consumption palpably liberating emotion, and tellingly resulting in the film's greatest wisdom (which then segues, equally fittingly, into song).

"Let's have the dignity to laugh at our unhappiness."
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rischka
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
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aww you make me wanna watch this again. maybe i will tonight!
Edited by rischka, Apr 16 2014, 08:40 PM.
"covfefe" -- dj cheeto

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I guess we wont get this on mubi. Thanks for this anyway.
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I just re-posted this on mubi, as the cup intro.
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Thank you very much.
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Edges and Ridges
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Just watched An Inn at Osaka.

In the middle of the film (@1:30:50), one of the characters (Oyone, played by Sachiko Hidari, who later became the spouse of Susumu Hani) sings a song with a strong Osaka dialect.

You can find the original version here:


Kaimono Bugi (“Shopping Boogie", 1950), Sizuko Kasagi

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Sizuko Kasagi in Akira Kurosawa's "Drunken Angel". And she is one of my favorite female singers of all time;)
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rischka
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
that's adorable!!
"covfefe" -- dj cheeto

letterboxd + tumblr + twitter





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