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Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna (1946)

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FIVE WOMEN AROUND UTAMARO (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1946) ***, 22 mai 2008

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@onvol.net) de Naxxar, Malta

This is yet another fine work from Mizoguchi which I’d read about but had never gotten the opportunity to watch until now; distressingly, I had trouble with the disc once again (severe pixellation towards the very end) and, as was the case with THE LIFE OF OHARU (1952), I was forced to copy the film anew – luckily, with similar success (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the remaining four Japanese titles I’ve got lined up for the rest of the week!).

To begin with, the title is accurate in that the protagonist, a Japanese painter of the 17th century, isn’t himself involved with the various female figures who inspire his work. Rather, it’s his friends/colleagues and, in particular, two of them who are torn between a couple of women each – in one case, even ending in tragedy! With this in mind, the film is generally lighter than most of the director’s work that I’ve watched so far – but that denouement is all the more effective because it’s unexpected (though followed by an uplifting coda in which the painter resumes his work after serving a 50-day sentence of house arrest for daring to sketch the current Shogun!).

Unlike, say, Akira Kurosawa, few actors used by Mizoguchi are recognizable names to Western audiences – however, the acting in his films is certainly no less compelling: that said, given Mizoguchi’s resume', it’s not surprising that he’s seemingly less interested in the painter himself than in his subjects (and especially Kinuyo Tanaka, the director’s frequent muse, who turns in a beautifully nuanced performance as the volatile geisha driven by love to extremes). This may be a film about an obsessive artist – whom Mizoguchi is said to have imbued with characteristics inherent in himself – and, yet, its intention isn’t to probe into his character or motivations but rather illustrate the time and milieu in which he operated…or, perhaps, to showcase Utamaro’s own “pretentious” dictum that the etchings he made (apparently with little effort!) were more “alive” than those of any of his contemporaries.

As would OHARU, the film follows an episodic structure: we begin by his being challenged to a swordfight over the above comment by an exponent of a rival art school, but countering his impulsive outrage by settling over a duel with the brush (which leaves the latter not merely an admirer of Utamaro’s individualistic style but a willing student and constant companion!). Other major sequences include the one where Utamaro paints directly on the ‘perfect skin’ of a courtesan (which had previously overwhelmed an eminent tattooist!) and the one which sees the painter (who has been turning below-par work due to a lack of inspiration) being presented with the opportunity of clandestinely sketching a plethora of concubines who regularly assemble at the river and, watched over by their lord, dive en masse to catch fish! Reportedly, Mizoguchi had trouble making this film at a time when period pieces were forbidden by the Occupation forces in Japan because of their glorification of feudal values; besides, the film’s budget apparently wasn’t big enough to afford a crane (which would have enabled the director’s traditional long and sweeping tracking shots) – however, he more than compensated with a flawlessly exquisite sense of composition throughout.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
About the focus, 4 mai 2008

Author: (CinemaDude@aol.com) de United States

Quick note about this print: it was run at the Brooklyn Museum last night and it was a pristine print -- that is to say, it was only two years old with the incept date being 2006 and physically in very good shape with no splices except for the single lab spices at 1000ft in each reel and the head and tails leaders were spliced indicating it has been mounted on a platter transport system. But, all the imperfections that are visible, the very soft focus as was noted in the previous post and an annoying jitter that is apparent in certain shots, are generated from whatever elements this print was struck, not from this physical print itself, which, as I said was in excellent condition.

Actually the soft focus even had a look that indicates it might have been struck from a video master.....it had that video "look," although 16mm is still a contender.

It is possibly that the DVD release is responsible for the new print. They may have gone back to the original negative or internegative elements for the DVD, dumped them to video, edited them and produced a video master. It would have been cost-effective to simply make a transfer from the video master rather than go the film route.

Something that also points in that direction is the fact that the subtitles were not etched. Normally subtitles are physically etched into each frame either by a laser or chemically, removing the picture emulsion. This process produces subtitles that are very easy to read, even in very bright scenes. This method produces text that is always lighter than the background; even if the background is white, the text will be whiter. The subtitles in this print were not etched hence they were very difficult to read when against white backgrounds. The subtitles were rock steady, even when the background was jittering which is another indication they were produced in the video stage and then the print struck from that video master.

Although these clues point to a print derived from a video master, a blowup from a 16mm release print is also a possibility.

It would be interesting to see if the DVD has these same soft focus and jitter artifacts as well.

The film is interesting, but not nearly as provocative as it must have been in the 40s. I was struck by the liberal use of very long and complex tracking shots, not very common in at that time and quite daring.

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting to note;, 12 juin 1999

Author: Bond-45 de Canberra, Australia

Just a brief word: anyone interested in this very good film should read Angela Dalle Vachhe's - Painting and cinema.

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5 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting but imaginary look at early 19'th century Japan, 26 août 2000

Author: psteier de New York

An fiction based on the life of the Japanese print artist Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) and some of the people around him. Mainly for those interested in either director Kenji Mizoguchi or in the life in the Yoshiwara (the expensive licensed brothel district) and other areas the sporting life of the time.

Very good acting, wonderful female costumes and well done sets. The print I saw at the Museum of Modern Art seemed vaguely out of focus (perhaps it is a 16 mm print).

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