The Life of Oharu
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Life of Oharu is a 1952 historical fiction black-and-white film by director Kenji Mizoguchi starring Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a daimyō (and mother of a later daimyō) who struggles to escape the stigma of having been sold into prostitution by her father. Based on a novel by Ihara Saikaku, the film constitutes an excellent example of the long take aesthetic, which Mizoguchi employed extensively throughout his career.
Starring Kinuyo Tanaka (in what is perhaps her most famous role) as Oharu, the film tells a poignant story that uses the experiences of a struggling courtesan to examine the issues of class and rigid hierarchy in Japanese society in the Edo period.
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