Flowing (Nagareru)
Directed by Mikio Naruse
Written by Toshirô Ide and Sumie Tanaka from a novel by Aya Kôda
1956/Japan
Toho Company
First viewing/Hulu
“The river is everywhere.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Japan’s greatest actresses gather in Naruse’s gentler story of aging geishas in a changing world.
Otsuta (Isuzu Yamada, Throne of Blood) runs a geisha house in Tokyo. Her daughter Katsuyo (Hideko Takamine, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) has no intention of becoming a geisha or taking over the business but helps out by keeping the books. This is a painful task as the business is deeply in debt. The geishas working at the house include Someko (Haruko Sugimura, Tokyo Story). As the story begins, Otsuta hires the widowed Rika Yamanaka (Kinuyo Tanaka, Ugetsu etc. etc. etc.) as a maid. The gentle Rika proves to be an ideal, loyal employee and becomes the confidant of many of the other women.
The story is episodic but centers on Otsuta’s efforts to stay afloat. She seeks help from both her disapproving sister and from a female restaurant owner who hires geishas. Even so, men will have to be the ultimate source of her financing. By the end, it is clear she is no longer able to depend on their favors. But life quietly goes on for Otsuta and her colleagues.
For me the highlight of this film was Tanaka’s performance in a role quite unlike anything I had ever seen her in. She is the soul of the story. The film is beautiful to look at as well. It was interesting to see Naruse’s look at basically the same subject matter as covered by Mizoguchi in this year’s Street of Shame with much heightened drama.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRk1YJOQXyI
No trailer or clip so here’s some background on the director
