Review of Utamaro and His Five Women (1946) by Daniel M — 19 Mar 2008

Really interesting; the film has several possible interpretations, and I'm probably missing a few more. There might well be something autobiographical going on here: Utamaro is shown as an artist inspired by the women around him, and the same could be said for Mizoguchi himself.

There's quite a lot going on with the theme of engraving as a "vulgar" art compared to painting, as well as with the fact that Utamaro's work is literally constructed on the women's backs.

I don't know enough about Japanese art history to be able to say much more, but on the whole the film is excellent. Fascinating, too, that this was made in 1946, with the Japanese film industry under very close supervision and censorship from the American occupation.