THE MISTRESS (Japan / 1953)



The Mistress (Gan) is based on a classic autobiographical novel by Mori Ogai, an important Japanese author from the Meiji period (1868-1912) whose work (a short story) was also responsible for Mizoguchis acclaimed Sansho the Bailiff (1954). (The novels English title, Wild Geese, is also the secondary title of the film.) Assuredly directed by Toyoda Shir (1906-1977) -- a Toho mainstay who, after serving as an assistant and screenwriter to Shimazu Yasujiro (one of the initial masters of the shomin-geki), came into prominence with such films as Wakai hito (1937) and Kojima no haru (1940), Kinema Junpos best film of the year, but went on to helm more genre-related efforts like Illusion of Blood (1966) and Portrait of Hell (1969) -- The Mistress relates a poignant story of a woman who struggles for personal freedom in a patriarchal, tradition-bound society. 

The role of our eponymous protagonist is delicately rendered by Takamine Hideko, who, as usual, is not necessarily beautiful in her suffering, but persevering, dedicated and intelligent (Catherine Russell). She had a distinctive propensity for underplaying the most dramatic of moments, which she does here with aplomb. Her Otama is the daughter of a poor and sickly candy-seller who is manipulated into a becoming a mistress of a recently widowed merchant (Tono Eijir) with promise of a future marriage. But once she discovers the true nature of her patron, her dream, not to mention her self-image, is shattered. Consequently, she finds herself drawn towards a young medical student (Akutagawa Hiroshi), whom she envisions as the only ray of hope in her despairing existence. 

Through graceful camera-movements which defy the congested crassness of the lower-middle-class milieu (authentically captured by the art-direction of the great Kimura Takeo and Ito Kisaku, who also worked with Mizoguchi during the mid-50s), Toyoda draws a parallel with the plight of his own central character. The persistent presence of fog during the nighttime sequences serves as a metaphor for the indeterminate social environment of the late Meiji-era. The western-influenced score of Dan Ikuma is appropriately deployed. Alongside the likes of Nomura Yoshitaro, Uchida Tomu, Kinoshita Keisuke, etc., Toyoda could perhaps be considered as someone who may not have been consistently great, but nonetheless produced films that qualified as such. The Mistress is one of them.

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