Kenji Mizoguchi (1) (1898–1956)

After Mohei (Kazuo Hasegawa), an apprentice to a master scroll maker (Eitaro Shindo), commits forgery to help the family of Osan (Kyoko Kagawa), his greedy and heartless boss's beautiful young wife, hypocrisy, coincidence and cruelty brand the young couple as adulterers, a crime punished by public disgrace (both to the accused and to their families) and ultimately death by crucifixion. Kenji Mizoguchi's sad tale, which is based on an Shotoku-era play by Monzaemon Chikamatsu (hence the title, show more the film is also known as 'The Crucified Lovers'), is slow moving but beautifully filmed and poignant without drifting into the maudlin. show less

"The story in "The life of O-Haru" is very melodramatic. It is hard to imagine that a woman has so much misfortune in only one lifetime. It reminded me of the melodramas of Douglas Sirk of (also) the 50's. Sirk and "The life of O-Haru" have in common that under the surface of the melodrama there is genuine critique on the hypocrisy in society. In "The life of O-Haru" many men consider O-Haru a very immoral woman, not having the slightest idea that the real immorality is on their side.
When show more comparing the episode in the house of Lord Matsudaira from "The life of O-Haru" with "Raise the red lantern" (1991, Zhang Yimou), we see a curious difference in the roles of the first wife / mistress and the concubine respectively. In "Raise the red lantern" there was already a son / heir and the role of the concubine was to satisfy the sexual needs of the master. In "The life of O-Haru" the role of the concubine is to produce a son / heir. When she has delivered, she is sent home because she arouses the master so much that it is bad for his health.
Pressure to produce a heir is not exclusie for Asian cultures. Look for example at Henry VIII, who did punish the wives who did not deliver. show less

Kiyone Sakurai, an apprentice sword maker makes a sword for his guardian, Kozaemon Onoda. Onoda breaks the sword while defending his lord which eventually leads to his death at the hands of Naito, when Naito demands to marry his daughter Sasae. Sasae vows to avenge her father’s death and pleads for Kiyone Sakurai to make a special sword for her. So Kiyone and his fellow swordmaker Kiyotsugu go to the master swordsmith Kiyohide Yamatomori to learn their craft and forge the sword. (fonte: Imdb)