A lowly divorcee is tricked into becoming the mistress of a despised moneylender but soon falls in love with a student.A lowly divorcee is tricked into becoming the mistress of a despised moneylender but soon falls in love with a student.A lowly divorcee is tricked into becoming the mistress of a despised moneylender but soon falls in love with a student.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination
Eizô Tanaka
- Zenkichi, Otama's father
- (as Eizo Tanaka)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
[first lines]
Osan, the marriage broker: It's true he's offering to keep you as his mistress. But the man is a widower who's living with his children. So, to be in his keeping is like marrying him. But there's his reputation to consider.
- Crazy creditsThis is a story from the time when migrating wild geese still flew over Tokyo.
- Alternate versionsSubtitled version and dubbed version available.
- ConnectionsFeatured in A Japanese Film Festival (1957)
Featured review
The fading self-respect of a mistress
The flow of films showing the hard lives of women, and the position they are put in, were at their height in 1950s Japan, and this is without a doubt a standout. Hideko Takamine and character actor Eijirô Tôno are stunning as the kept and the keeper. She, accepting the role of mistress, he, the hated moneylender, barely keeping the illusions which made her accept.
Toyoda's direction is strong, and almost fearless. At times he goes even darker and deeper than most peers, leaving us to study "Otama", and see her self respect slowly fade away. The films only flaw is it's occasional lack of subtlety where it feels like the characters just "had to" voice what we should (and usually already are) feeling - but these occasions are luckily rare. I might also have enjoyed it even more without the introduction of a slight sense of hope, but it's harshness and melancholy is still very much there, in almost every moment.
In fact there is at most time a sense of crassness, especially when Tôno is on the screen. Each gesture, each act, each line. You can genuinely feel why he is despised by the people around him, and this without him ever being overtly cruel, something he brilliantly would be the first to point out.
Toyoda had a brilliant eye for detail, and managed to do things they sometimes even had a hard time doing, such as letting every single character, no matter how small, shine in their own way, and be truly worth remembering. Even more incredibly, no one steals the spotlight away from Otame. Each event, each character, they all reflect upon her story, and often adds a further layer to her prison.
Toyoda's direction is strong, and almost fearless. At times he goes even darker and deeper than most peers, leaving us to study "Otama", and see her self respect slowly fade away. The films only flaw is it's occasional lack of subtlety where it feels like the characters just "had to" voice what we should (and usually already are) feeling - but these occasions are luckily rare. I might also have enjoyed it even more without the introduction of a slight sense of hope, but it's harshness and melancholy is still very much there, in almost every moment.
In fact there is at most time a sense of crassness, especially when Tôno is on the screen. Each gesture, each act, each line. You can genuinely feel why he is despised by the people around him, and this without him ever being overtly cruel, something he brilliantly would be the first to point out.
Toyoda had a brilliant eye for detail, and managed to do things they sometimes even had a hard time doing, such as letting every single character, no matter how small, shine in their own way, and be truly worth remembering. Even more incredibly, no one steals the spotlight away from Otame. Each event, each character, they all reflect upon her story, and often adds a further layer to her prison.
helpful•80
- Gloede_The_Saint
- Sep 30, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Wild Geese
- Filming locations
- Hamacho, Tokyo, Japan(Shop Location)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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