when a woman ascends the stairs analysis

No one is that good—or that evil—in a Naruse movie; he neither ennobles nor demeans, but shows realistically the ways that we are all mixed, contradictory creatures. After Mother (1952), Late Chrysanthemums (1954), Floating Clouds (1955), and Flowing (1956), he was ready to tackle the newly prosperous, go-getter Japan. 5 – 1980: New Wave, Cinema City, Jackie Chan & John Woo, The History of Hong Kong Action Cinema Pt. Sign up to get our cinematic goodness delivered to your inbox every weekend. Even with its touches of humor in an expression or a line of dialogue, it’s nowhere close to the campy, technicolor crescendo Sirk cooked up for Imitation of Life. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) External Reviews. When A Woman Ascends The Stairs Keiko, 'Mama', is a 30 yr old Geisha with many life pressures and is of an age where she must think about her future. When A Woman Ascends The Stairs is a Japanese film about a bar hostess in Tokyo’s luxurious Ginza district who encounters a variety of social challenges as she meets with her family, her friends, and a wide range of customers. Known as the honorable “Mama”, Keiko has earned the respect and admiration of other bar hostess and customers for her unadulterated beauty. 6 – 1980-2000: Handover & Second Wave, The History of Hong Kong Action Pt. With Hideko Takamine, Tatsuya Nakadai, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan. She comes across at times as self-righteous, at other times as hard. Society has certain set expectations. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. The posthumous international triumph of Mikio Naruse is one of the most unique corrections in film history. It’s not the kind of exhibition you soon forget. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. It has a lot to say about a Japan that still seems to exist very much to this day in ever-evolving forms. She starts out as a manger of a bar but fails to make ends meet so has to get a job as a simple bar hostess. Sly, resourceful, but trapped, Keiko comes to embody the conflicts and struggles of a woman trying to … It is a business first. Receive a $6 Movie Rental. Naruse’s filming style, never ostentatious, shows exquisite tact. 19,535 Customer Reviews . Directed by Mikio Naruse. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is centered on the character of Keiko, played by the striking Hideko Takamine who also appeared in Floating Clouds. This absorbing drama takes a character we would normally associate with film noir into the real world of the Ginza, where a hostess's fortune is measured in how many men she can attract to her bar. Endurance is the final antidote to despair, and that he does not extinguish. His work, almost all of which is set in the contemporary era, is about people (very often women) of limited means trying to keep their heads above water, escape domestic quagmires, and realize their dreams in a world rife with betrayals and self-betrayals. When a woman ascends the stairs might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse's finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko (played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine), who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo's very modern postwar Ginza district, who entertains businessmen after work. TV Shows . The veil of social decency morphs into a veil of affection, relations predicated on the commodity of love making true human connection impossible to find. Kurosawa admiringly singled out Naruse’s skill as an editor, and we see plenty of evidence here. When a woman ascends the stairs, she steps into the den of lions. I’m not sure if we could call it her stairway toward the “glass ceiling” exactly but she enters a new world — a restricting space — when she steps into work every evening. In its place, Naruse commits unreservedly to his story and consequently, provides another moving examination of his culture. But in a manner indicative of Japanese culture, Keiko must deal with a nagging mother and a useless brother who are constantly dependent on her for money. When Keiko decides to accept Sekine’s marriage proposal, we cheer her willingness to compromise by accepting this homely but essentially good-hearted man—only to discover he is not what he appears. It’s the 1960s, an era built on the bedrock of a post-war economy. We respect her stubbornness and resilience, yes, but what keeps this quintessential woman’s picture from descending to weepy melodrama is the objectivity brought to bear. It too was about a strong single woman trying to make her way in a world all but dominated by men. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is set in the singularly-Asian milieu of the so-called "snack bar." Become a Member and support film journalism. What is it about Naruse’s films that touches this belated responsive chord? Menu. when you purchase a new Edible Arrangements movie-themed Edible Box. Movies. It’s not a lie — all the things in front — but there is so much more to contend with. The film’s time structure thus runs on dual tracks: first, the forward linear narrative, packed with incident (suicide, illness, marriage proposals, deceptions, one-night stands, abandonment); and second, the repeated figure of the stairs, with its philosophical musings, when the film catches its breath and loops back, making you understand that in a sense Keiko is getting nowhere, except in her awareness of what she is up against. WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS might be Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse’s finest hour, a delicate, devastating study of a woman, Keiko (played heartbreakingly by Hideko Takamine), who works as a bar hostess in Tokyo’s very modern postwar Ginza district, who entertains businessmen after work. In a sense, she represents a more traditional Japanese set of values, in contrast to the mod, pecuniary libertinism sprouting up around her. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs 3.7K ratings 8.1/10. At the film’s center is Hideko Takamine, one of Naruse’s favorite actresses and indeed one of the most striking, gifted, and charismatic stars in Japanese cinema. Still, just as Sirk was capable of dissecting American life, I would wager Naruse is equally adept when it comes to Japan. My last thought is only this. Thus, popping in The Criterion Collection DVD of his 1960 film, When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (Onna Ga Kaidan Wo Agaru Toki), I had no preset expectations of what the film would bring, and whose style (if any, of the five other named directors, Naruse’s style would most be near. She has her own wayward needs, is in fact in love with a married businessman, Fujisaki (the wonderful actor Masayuki Mori, who played the potter in Ugetsu, and who subtly communicates here the burden of being “the type women go for”). 7 – 2000-Present: Life After the Handover, The History of Hong Kong Action Cinema Pt. See Full Cast + Crew for When a Woman Ascends the Stairs Features Load More Features Movie Reviews Presented by Rotten Tomatoes. A middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges posed to her by her family, customers and friends. There are no bravura 360-degree camera movements, but there are subtle little tracking shots of Keiko walking through Tokyo, with or without company; and when Keiko goes up the stairs to her bar, the camera delicately ascends with her for just two seconds. Better Than Food 6,604 views. Because in one go she effectively represents an entire subset of human beings and imbues them with unmistakable pathos. Are you familiar with Mikio Naruse? Playing at Stanford University on 4/13. Asked to help pay for an operation that would correct her nephew’s polio, she discards the plea as too expensive, and we never do find out if she springs for the loan. What keeps the film entertaining—even dryly comic—is the tension between the essentially futile struggle of Keiko and the colorful, rapacious types who surround her. SEE DETAILS. Analysis: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is a poignant portrait of Keiko, a widowed 30-year-old bar hostess whom everyone respectfully calls ‘Mama’, as she works in Tokyo’s Ginza, the entertainment district associated with high fashion and luxury. There is no relief in this constant barrage of pain, rejection, and heartbreak our heroine is taxed with. Theatrical trailer for When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. After he died, retrospectives of his work began to tour Europe and America; they excited the enthusiasm of knowledgeable cinephiles and were repeated in periodic cycles; a body of criticism grew around him, and now his films are issued worldwide on DVD. Though we cannot but sympathize with Keiko, we are also allowed to judge her dispassionately. What makes them even more impactful is how they just keep building off one another scene after scene. In a highly fashionable area like Ginza — renowned even today for its shopping and glamour — the western influence is undeniable. And if it is about sex then only as a commodity, a tool, a bargaining chip, to be used. Even here, the American influence is felt with many of the bars deriving their names from English. If Mikio Naruse‘s Floating Clouds is a film about making peace with the war years, then When a Woman Who Ascends The Stairs is a far more forward-thinking endeavor. Her voice-overs, on the steps or during documentary-style cutaways of Tokyo, tend to describe in general terms the daily life of the Ginza district and the bar hostess’s lot. She must fortify herself, and it’s true she has an untenable veneer built up over the years. Every cut conveys the solitary partiality of each character’s viewpoint, even the most minor. For money, her customers for her attention, and she awakes happy and,!, Jackie Chan & John Woo, the American influence is felt many... Fashionable area like Ginza — renowned even today for its shopping and glamour — the western is... 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