In "A Geisha" (1953) Mizogushi portrayed how the profession of geisha descends into plain prostitution. In "Street of shame" (1956) this transition is fully completed. The aggressiveness with which the inhabitants of the red light district try to get potential customers inside has nothing to do with the cultural sophistication a geisha was once expected to have.
When prostitution became more and more explicit after the Second World War, the cultural tolerance for it declined inside Japan. "Street of shame" plays in a period when legislation was prepared to ban prostitution as a form of exploitation of women. In this film Mizoguchi firmly sides with the women. The arguments of the brothel owner against the impending law, portraying himself as a sort of social worker giving his girls a unique change to take care of themselves is overflown with hypocrisy.
"Street of shame" follows five girls working in the same brothel. The film gives us a look inside the background of each of the girls. How and why did they enter into prostitution?
Yumeko is a single mother who ued her earnings to raise her boy. Now the boy is grown up, and he feels only shame for (the profession of) his mother. This hurts Yumeko not only emotionally but also economically. Now she is getting older and is less atractive for the cliens she had hoped that her son would care for her in turn.
Yori is also single. She dreams of getting married. When she does it turns out that her husband regards her only as a cheap source of labor for his company.
Hannae has to care for both her ill husband (tuberculosis) and a young baby. She looks like an exhausted housewife, but maybe she is the strongest of them all.
Mickey is a rebel. In one of the strongest scenes of the film we learn where this rebellious behavior comes from. Her father, once a regular visitor of prostitutes and remarried with one of them shortly after his first wife died, visits Mickey to tell her that she is a disgrace to the family.
Yasumi is the youngest and the prettiest of the five. She is also very manipulative, ruining some of her clients. She lends the money she earns to her colleagues, of course at a usurious interest. Is she the smartest of them all? Maybe, but she is also playing with fire and has not only sold her body but also lost her soul.
The five leading characters are more or less archetypes. This prevents to some extent a strong emotional bond. This emotional bond only arises in the brilliant final scene, when an innocent young girl makes her debut (closing the circle) and is scared to death when she sees her more experienced collegues literally jumping on potential clients.
"Street of shame" was Mizoguchi's last. Probably he was aware of that, because he was already in bad health shooting the film. It has not become his "magnus opus" in two respects. In the first place he has made better films, but in the second place even in his last film he was trying something new. "Street of shame" is a film situated in contemporary time and also an ensemble film with five main characters. This makes the film less suitable for the long takes, which were a Mizoguchi trademark for most of his career.
When prostitution became more and more explicit after the Second World War, the cultural tolerance for it declined inside Japan. "Street of shame" plays in a period when legislation was prepared to ban prostitution as a form of exploitation of women. In this film Mizoguchi firmly sides with the women. The arguments of the brothel owner against the impending law, portraying himself as a sort of social worker giving his girls a unique change to take care of themselves is overflown with hypocrisy.
"Street of shame" follows five girls working in the same brothel. The film gives us a look inside the background of each of the girls. How and why did they enter into prostitution?
Yumeko is a single mother who ued her earnings to raise her boy. Now the boy is grown up, and he feels only shame for (the profession of) his mother. This hurts Yumeko not only emotionally but also economically. Now she is getting older and is less atractive for the cliens she had hoped that her son would care for her in turn.
Yori is also single. She dreams of getting married. When she does it turns out that her husband regards her only as a cheap source of labor for his company.
Hannae has to care for both her ill husband (tuberculosis) and a young baby. She looks like an exhausted housewife, but maybe she is the strongest of them all.
Mickey is a rebel. In one of the strongest scenes of the film we learn where this rebellious behavior comes from. Her father, once a regular visitor of prostitutes and remarried with one of them shortly after his first wife died, visits Mickey to tell her that she is a disgrace to the family.
Yasumi is the youngest and the prettiest of the five. She is also very manipulative, ruining some of her clients. She lends the money she earns to her colleagues, of course at a usurious interest. Is she the smartest of them all? Maybe, but she is also playing with fire and has not only sold her body but also lost her soul.
The five leading characters are more or less archetypes. This prevents to some extent a strong emotional bond. This emotional bond only arises in the brilliant final scene, when an innocent young girl makes her debut (closing the circle) and is scared to death when she sees her more experienced collegues literally jumping on potential clients.
"Street of shame" was Mizoguchi's last. Probably he was aware of that, because he was already in bad health shooting the film. It has not become his "magnus opus" in two respects. In the first place he has made better films, but in the second place even in his last film he was trying something new. "Street of shame" is a film situated in contemporary time and also an ensemble film with five main characters. This makes the film less suitable for the long takes, which were a Mizoguchi trademark for most of his career.