Updates, Live: Mizogucuchi: Sisters of Gion (1936)

Gion no shimai (Sisters of Gion): two sisters, geishas living in Gion, the red lantern district of Osaka, in a time of change. The old world is disappearing, no more rich and generous patrons, it's harder and harder to make a living as a courtesane. One of the sisters, the younger Omocha (played by Isuzu Yamada, the favorite interpret of Mizoguchi's movies) takes life the way it is, the elder Umechiki is trying to keep the traditional way, believing in loyalty and honesty. Both loose, there is no way for them, period.

I'm starting to recognize the style of Mizoguchi: his genius is in creating the atmosphere through the images, the tonality. Even if you do not follow the characters, the atmosphere tells you everything about a dark universe. It's all in the dark lightning, the narrow streets, the desolate rooms. And the art of filming the room! Transforming the room in the perfect space for the action: the walls, and the doors, and the floors; the camera knowing how to move from a wall to another, how to balance the elements of the room, to balance the position of the actors in the room, to offer to the action the perfect equilibrated space,

Some consider this movie a great one, some not. Probably both are right. It is great for the atmosphere, it creates a universe; but it seems sometimes theater on the screen. Well, I could be wrong :)