Zangiku Monogatari (1939)
Japan 142m, B&W
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi; Cast: Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kôkichi Takada, Gonjurô Kawarazaki
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum is a slow-paced and predictable drama set in late nineteenth century Japan about the adopted son of a well-known Kabuki actor who falls in love with a young woman beneath his social station. In defying his father, the son is labelled selfish and arrogant, with little care for his family’s good name. Though he chooses to leave his family and live with the woman he loves, the son is eventually able to honor his family name, but only with great sacrifice. Rich in set design and costuming, Zangiku Monogatari is a beautifully filmed production which may have been spectacular if it had been filmed in colour (Klaus Ming July 2013).
4 comments on “Zangiku Monogatari (1939)”
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I liked this one better than I expected and better than the other early Mizoguchi films I have seen. This is a more complete story and less confusing for a non-japanese viewer. Set design is really beautiful.
The copy I watched suffered from some pretty bad subtitling. I expect, unfortunately, that I lost a lot of the the film’s meaning.
Classic problem with Asian films. When I lived in China I simply gave up in subtitles. They were often more confusing than helpful, though in some cases they were entertaining in their own right, though not intentionally.
Luckily there was a lot of visuals to enjoy.