WILD GEESE / THE MISTRESS (GAN). Viewed on Streaming. Cinematography = seven (7) stars; subtitles = seven (7) stars; score = six (6) stars; set design = five (5) stars; restoration = two (2) stars. Director Shirou Toyoda's tragic tale (based on a novel with the same name) of female oppression and societal De Facto incarceration (a favorite theme) at the start of the paternalistic Meiji era (late 1800s) in a poor small town (and on cheap small studio sets) provides a showcase for Hideko Takamine (HT) (a favorite lead actress). As a result of many otherwise admirable traits (including modesty, patience, kindness, and a trusting nature), beauty, but lack of education, HT's character is usually preyed upon and exploited by just about everyone she encounters: match-making tricksters; a penniless and parasitic father; her former husband (who dumped her when she discovered he was still married and had a family); her patron and "pending" middle-aged husband (who really has no plans for divorcing his slightly-unhinged wife and marrying his "damaged-goods" mistress); and on and on. (It also turns out that her current "master" is the richest and most despised man in town, since he is a usurious money lender.) Toyoda's movie does not gain altitude until he "turns loose" HT (about a third of the way along). With often spectacular results! The actress's dialog is sparse, but (with the help of the cinematographer and the lighting director) her subtle facial expression and body language say it all. The viewer always knows what her character is thinking even when silent (and really thinking when speaking). HT seems to have developed this technique to perfection! Cinematography (narrow screen, gray and white) is fine. Lateral tracking shots between rooms are well executed. Lighting is a bit sparse in some scenes. Score (which seems to be always running in the background) is okay. So are subtitles. Restoration has yet to occur and is frankly embarrassing, since this movie was streamed off the new FilmStruck/Criterion site no less! Loud popping occurs throughout the film. Scenes are gray and white rather than black and white. Reel splices are usually visible. So are the old visual cues for projectionists to change reels (a large dot flashes in the upper right of the screen--remember these?). Opening credits look like they were partially run through a cement mixer. The film is almost 70 years old and looks it. But rises above it's lack of restoration. Recommended. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.
12 Reviews
Hideko Takemine is radiant
gbill-7487718 October 2023
"She's uncontrollable when she gets hysterical."
"That's because you lied to her, like all men."
This is a heartfelt melodrama, one that empathizes with women and the unfair position they held in the Meiji era of Japan, 1868-1912, and, perhaps by extension, their position when the film was made. The premise is simple: out of financial desperation, a young woman (Hideko Takemine) becomes the mistress to a loathsome money lender, only afterwards finding out his real occupation, and that he's married. She's been set up by a woman who owes the loan shark money and hopes to use the relationship to get out of debt, and she's encouraged in this by her elderly father as a practical way for them to get out of poverty. She had been duped by a man before, you see, and is "damaged," limiting her prospects. The feeling of her being trapped, forced to use her body as her only option, is heartbreaking.
When the young woman meets a medical student (Hiroshi Akutagawa) the pair have eyes for one another, but class restrictions make entertaining a romance difficult. Another student points out to the young man that he's a medical student and she's a kept woman, so he should forget about her. Meanwhile, her father, who's essentially profited from his daughter having sex with a middle-aged man, cautions her, saying "How can you give up the life you have and go back to the living hell of poverty?" Meanwhile, the mistress's "master" (Eijiro Tono) keeps a close eye on her, and despite his duplicity to both his wife and her, has the nerve to get upset even when he finds out she's learning to sew kimonos, saying, "Have you been hiding something from me? I won't allow that!" Not surprisingly, the double standard is in full effect.
Hideko Takemine plays her part with the perfect balance between control and emotion, and is radiant to say the least. The shot where director Shiro Toyoda changes the lighting on her face from background to foreground in a close-up is absolutely gorgeous. Her character has a sense of integrity even when trying to fulfill the obligations of the role fate has assigned her, heightening the emotions. It seems she's constantly having to slide the windows of her little apartment closed, as people walking by peer in, or her master wants her. In this I saw a symbol of hiding, or the potential for discovery of unpleasant truths, bringing shame to her.
To Toyoda's credit, he humanizes all of these characters, including the moneylender, who we find had to work hard as a janitor to college students, saving his meager tips before starting his business. His wife finds out about the affair through a clever device in the plot, and vents her displeasure with him. First he denies it, and then when confronted with evidence, admits it but says her "job" as a wife has actually gotten easier now, though the film's sympathies are clearly with her.
The film also does not succumb to artifice in its main story, or its few subplots. There is a woman with five children who owes the moneylender, and to keep up with her payments, is forced to become a prostitute down by the river. While there is a level of acceptance in the ending for the main character, there is also a cruel reality, especially as we imagine her future. Great film, and a near miss for an even higher rating.
This is a heartfelt melodrama, one that empathizes with women and the unfair position they held in the Meiji era of Japan, 1868-1912, and, perhaps by extension, their position when the film was made. The premise is simple: out of financial desperation, a young woman (Hideko Takemine) becomes the mistress to a loathsome money lender, only afterwards finding out his real occupation, and that he's married. She's been set up by a woman who owes the loan shark money and hopes to use the relationship to get out of debt, and she's encouraged in this by her elderly father as a practical way for them to get out of poverty. She had been duped by a man before, you see, and is "damaged," limiting her prospects. The feeling of her being trapped, forced to use her body as her only option, is heartbreaking.
When the young woman meets a medical student (Hiroshi Akutagawa) the pair have eyes for one another, but class restrictions make entertaining a romance difficult. Another student points out to the young man that he's a medical student and she's a kept woman, so he should forget about her. Meanwhile, her father, who's essentially profited from his daughter having sex with a middle-aged man, cautions her, saying "How can you give up the life you have and go back to the living hell of poverty?" Meanwhile, the mistress's "master" (Eijiro Tono) keeps a close eye on her, and despite his duplicity to both his wife and her, has the nerve to get upset even when he finds out she's learning to sew kimonos, saying, "Have you been hiding something from me? I won't allow that!" Not surprisingly, the double standard is in full effect.
Hideko Takemine plays her part with the perfect balance between control and emotion, and is radiant to say the least. The shot where director Shiro Toyoda changes the lighting on her face from background to foreground in a close-up is absolutely gorgeous. Her character has a sense of integrity even when trying to fulfill the obligations of the role fate has assigned her, heightening the emotions. It seems she's constantly having to slide the windows of her little apartment closed, as people walking by peer in, or her master wants her. In this I saw a symbol of hiding, or the potential for discovery of unpleasant truths, bringing shame to her.
To Toyoda's credit, he humanizes all of these characters, including the moneylender, who we find had to work hard as a janitor to college students, saving his meager tips before starting his business. His wife finds out about the affair through a clever device in the plot, and vents her displeasure with him. First he denies it, and then when confronted with evidence, admits it but says her "job" as a wife has actually gotten easier now, though the film's sympathies are clearly with her.
The film also does not succumb to artifice in its main story, or its few subplots. There is a woman with five children who owes the moneylender, and to keep up with her payments, is forced to become a prostitute down by the river. While there is a level of acceptance in the ending for the main character, there is also a cruel reality, especially as we imagine her future. Great film, and a near miss for an even higher rating.
Depicting times of poverty, creating a dilemma,
jordondave-2808525 September 2023
(1953) The Wild Geese/ Gan
(In Japanese with English subtitles)
DRAMA/ CHARACTER STUDY
Adapted from the novel by Ogai Mori, that has an elder lady, Oshige attempting to set up a single and rather young, Otama (Hideko Takamine) with a date with her loan shark, in exchange for him to forgive the loan. At the same time Oshige continues to remind her that her impoverished dad's health is waning, and at some point may not be able to continue to sell penny candy anymore. By the time, Oshige manages to convince Otami for a meet and greet, it turns out, he Suezô, (Eijirô Tôno) is a much older man, and that his occupation is really a money lender, often loathed by the community because of his interest rates. Contradicting what was told to her about him, that he owns a kimono shop, and that despite having him having children, he has no wife at all because she is deceased. Otami, of course eventually finds out about this after already accepting lavish gifts and a better home, including a housekeeper. She also finds out that her dad also knows about it as well, but chose not to say anything, she at this point begin to accept the term of her being his "mistress". Creating conflict within herself as she becomes accustomed to be attracted to a student who walks past her house daily, we find out he is a student, Mr Okada (Hiroshi Akutagawa) studying to be a doctorate. And he too depends on the loan shark, Suezô, some people often call "the master".
What I like about this movie is it's subtleties in terms of it's approach that does not need to be graphic, but is shown instead many implications, both from Otama's point of view as well as her father to other's that have their own selfish reasons the reason why some have done the things each of them have done.
Adapted from the novel by Ogai Mori, that has an elder lady, Oshige attempting to set up a single and rather young, Otama (Hideko Takamine) with a date with her loan shark, in exchange for him to forgive the loan. At the same time Oshige continues to remind her that her impoverished dad's health is waning, and at some point may not be able to continue to sell penny candy anymore. By the time, Oshige manages to convince Otami for a meet and greet, it turns out, he Suezô, (Eijirô Tôno) is a much older man, and that his occupation is really a money lender, often loathed by the community because of his interest rates. Contradicting what was told to her about him, that he owns a kimono shop, and that despite having him having children, he has no wife at all because she is deceased. Otami, of course eventually finds out about this after already accepting lavish gifts and a better home, including a housekeeper. She also finds out that her dad also knows about it as well, but chose not to say anything, she at this point begin to accept the term of her being his "mistress". Creating conflict within herself as she becomes accustomed to be attracted to a student who walks past her house daily, we find out he is a student, Mr Okada (Hiroshi Akutagawa) studying to be a doctorate. And he too depends on the loan shark, Suezô, some people often call "the master".
What I like about this movie is it's subtleties in terms of it's approach that does not need to be graphic, but is shown instead many implications, both from Otama's point of view as well as her father to other's that have their own selfish reasons the reason why some have done the things each of them have done.
The fading self-respect of a mistress
Gloede_The_Saint30 September 2016
The flow of films showing the hard lives of women, and the position they are put in, were at their height in 1950s Japan, and this is without a doubt a standout. Hideko Takamine and character actor Eijirô Tôno are stunning as the kept and the keeper. She, accepting the role of mistress, he, the hated moneylender, barely keeping the illusions which made her accept.
Toyoda's direction is strong, and almost fearless. At times he goes even darker and deeper than most peers, leaving us to study "Otama", and see her self respect slowly fade away. The films only flaw is it's occasional lack of subtlety where it feels like the characters just "had to" voice what we should (and usually already are) feeling - but these occasions are luckily rare. I might also have enjoyed it even more without the introduction of a slight sense of hope, but it's harshness and melancholy is still very much there, in almost every moment.
In fact there is at most time a sense of crassness, especially when Tôno is on the screen. Each gesture, each act, each line. You can genuinely feel why he is despised by the people around him, and this without him ever being overtly cruel, something he brilliantly would be the first to point out.
Toyoda had a brilliant eye for detail, and managed to do things they sometimes even had a hard time doing, such as letting every single character, no matter how small, shine in their own way, and be truly worth remembering. Even more incredibly, no one steals the spotlight away from Otame. Each event, each character, they all reflect upon her story, and often adds a further layer to her prison.
Toyoda's direction is strong, and almost fearless. At times he goes even darker and deeper than most peers, leaving us to study "Otama", and see her self respect slowly fade away. The films only flaw is it's occasional lack of subtlety where it feels like the characters just "had to" voice what we should (and usually already are) feeling - but these occasions are luckily rare. I might also have enjoyed it even more without the introduction of a slight sense of hope, but it's harshness and melancholy is still very much there, in almost every moment.
In fact there is at most time a sense of crassness, especially when Tôno is on the screen. Each gesture, each act, each line. You can genuinely feel why he is despised by the people around him, and this without him ever being overtly cruel, something he brilliantly would be the first to point out.
Toyoda had a brilliant eye for detail, and managed to do things they sometimes even had a hard time doing, such as letting every single character, no matter how small, shine in their own way, and be truly worth remembering. Even more incredibly, no one steals the spotlight away from Otame. Each event, each character, they all reflect upon her story, and often adds a further layer to her prison.
A film of serene beauty
liehtzu14 November 1999
An example of all that is great about Japanese cinema prior to its decline in the 1960s. It is pictorially exquisite, leisurely paced but never dull, well-acted with just the right amount of melodrama, and directed by a master in top form. The director, Shiro Toyoda, is a superb Japanese film director that has yet to be discovered in the West, though a few of his films, such as "Wild Geese" and "Snow Country" can be found on video.
The story is of a young woman whose relationships with men in the past have been stormy, and who finds herself once again in a bad situation. She becomes the mistress of a wealthy moneylender, believing him to be a merchant who has been recently widowed and that he will soon marry her. She discovers his lies but cannot leave him because of the money he has given to her elderly father. Soon she falls in love with a student that passes by her house every day on the way home, but their relationship ends before it even begins when he is accepted as an apprentice to a doctor in Germany.
"The Mistress" is a beautifully shot film that captures with subtlety and grace the central character's tragedy through its images. It is also an admirable film for its restraint in not descending into the pit of tear-jerking sentimentality that so many Japanese films of the period (even some of the good ones) so frequently did.
The story is of a young woman whose relationships with men in the past have been stormy, and who finds herself once again in a bad situation. She becomes the mistress of a wealthy moneylender, believing him to be a merchant who has been recently widowed and that he will soon marry her. She discovers his lies but cannot leave him because of the money he has given to her elderly father. Soon she falls in love with a student that passes by her house every day on the way home, but their relationship ends before it even begins when he is accepted as an apprentice to a doctor in Germany.
"The Mistress" is a beautifully shot film that captures with subtlety and grace the central character's tragedy through its images. It is also an admirable film for its restraint in not descending into the pit of tear-jerking sentimentality that so many Japanese films of the period (even some of the good ones) so frequently did.
Well Told and Well Ended Deep Onna Story.
galaxywest13 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
A cable channel is now showing a Hideko Takamine film a week here and its latest showing was Gan (The Geese). It isn't until the very end, though, that you realize why the film was titled Gan.
The story takes place in the time when Japan was only about halfway into the modern world. Circa 1900.
There's one very long scene near the end of the movie that's just so well done. The young man, Okada, is walking down her, Otama's, street, intentionally I think, on his way to meet the man that will accompany him to Germany. Otama sees him coming. He, a person she hardly knows at all, is, in her mind, the only person on earth that can save her from a cruel fate. The long, wordless scene involves the entire length of the street. Their two hearts communicating through their eyes as he walks on, as she runs ahead, as she turns to 'confront' him, as he hesitates, as she finally realizes that's he's going and she'll never see him again. Hideko Takamine might be just flat out the most amazing actress you'll ever see.
The story takes place in the time when Japan was only about halfway into the modern world. Circa 1900.
There's one very long scene near the end of the movie that's just so well done. The young man, Okada, is walking down her, Otama's, street, intentionally I think, on his way to meet the man that will accompany him to Germany. Otama sees him coming. He, a person she hardly knows at all, is, in her mind, the only person on earth that can save her from a cruel fate. The long, wordless scene involves the entire length of the street. Their two hearts communicating through their eyes as he walks on, as she runs ahead, as she turns to 'confront' him, as he hesitates, as she finally realizes that's he's going and she'll never see him again. Hideko Takamine might be just flat out the most amazing actress you'll ever see.
"No sake. I won't stay long" -- ouch!
evening11 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
How does one eat, if not to be fed?
Otama (Hideko Takamine) yearns to choose her own mate, but economic realities of Meiji Japan make her a moneylender's mistress. When she catches the eye of a medical student, and he does something kind for her, she loses herself in a romantic fantasy, only to discover she means next-to-nothing to the going-places doc.
This understated film takes effort. I restarted it several times to get the characters straight, and I'm glad I persevered. Against this exotic backdrop, I see people from my own life here -- the woman who questions her fate ("You say I have no choice but to live this way?"), and the groveler who won't strike back except at someone weak.
Even without her dream man, Otama chips at the vacuousness of life, showing openness to kimono making and book reading, little glints of hope.
As her bent-over father opines, "In all things, patience is essential."
Ain't that the truth? And overhead, the wild geese fly.
Otama (Hideko Takamine) yearns to choose her own mate, but economic realities of Meiji Japan make her a moneylender's mistress. When she catches the eye of a medical student, and he does something kind for her, she loses herself in a romantic fantasy, only to discover she means next-to-nothing to the going-places doc.
This understated film takes effort. I restarted it several times to get the characters straight, and I'm glad I persevered. Against this exotic backdrop, I see people from my own life here -- the woman who questions her fate ("You say I have no choice but to live this way?"), and the groveler who won't strike back except at someone weak.
Even without her dream man, Otama chips at the vacuousness of life, showing openness to kimono making and book reading, little glints of hope.
As her bent-over father opines, "In all things, patience is essential."
Ain't that the truth? And overhead, the wild geese fly.
A Lucid Dream
rewolfsonlaw27 September 2020
Unspeakably beautiful, delicate and immutable. There is no weakness in the chain of imagery, the power of forces controlling the lives of the characters, painted on the screen like calligraphy. Necessity cages the characters in images as simple as a bird threatened by a snake, to the money lender once janitor to the kept woman generous to her servant to the cruelty of the wagging tongues. Nothing here a traditional American audience demands and receives from Hollywood; only the lucidity of the haiku or bonsai, the migration of the wild geese. Cinematic perfection.
Hideko Takamine Can Do No Wrong
crossbow01064 May 2008
Let me say from the outset that there is not much in the way of Hideko Takamine films with English subtitles or dubbing. She was one of Japan's greatest actresses, only rivaled to me by Setsuko Hara. I watched the English dubbed version of this film, which was fine, but not advisable. Better to get the subtitled version (if it exists), it seems more natural. That being said, the film is great. Its all about a lady Otoma (Ms. Takamine) becoming a mistress, rather than the wife, of a money lender. He is actually next to a loan shark. She gets her own place, but the money lenders wife finds out about this arrangement and is, of course, upset. Otoma also seems to like a student who helps her, and it is apparent she'd be happier with him, but that may be a dead end. This film is complex, but the use of shadows is a great idea. The mood of the film rarely waivers, and makes for a consistently rewarding, if not actually happy, film. Hideko Takamine, with her pretty doe eyes and beautiful face, lights up any film she is in. The only films I know off the top of my head that have English subtitles of hers are "When A Woman Ascends The Stairs", "Twenty Four Eyes" and "Carmen Comes Home" (Japan's first color film. The sequel "Carmen Finds Love" isn't even available-yet-on DVD). So, watch any Hideko Takamine film while you can. They are all rewarding (the above listed films). This film is a very worthy addition to watch, but check if you can get a subtitle version, rather than the dubbed version. Long may you run, beautiful Ms. Hideko Takamine.
If We Had The Chance, What Choices Would We Make?
boblipton17 September 2019
Hideko Takamine agrees to become the mistress of Eijirô Tôno. She was married, but the man turned out to have a wife and child, causing her and her poor father, a candy seller...well, problems. Tôno is, they believe, the widowed owner of a kimono shop with children, so it will be some time before she can be brought into his household as his wife. He is kind and indulgent of her. He is not, however, it turns out as advertised. His wife is very much alive and he is a money lender, despised by everyone when they are not trying to borrow money, and always hated by his debtors who cannot pay his usurious rates.
He is desperately in love with Miss Takamine. She likes him, but as she gradually learns the truth about him, she comes to despise him and herself. She takes refuge in a wished-for love of Hiroshi Akutagawa, a handsome medical student who killed a snake trying to eat her caged pet bird. He is focused on his studies and hopes to pass a test that will send him off to faraway Europe with a decent stipend.
Shirô Toyoda directs this fine adaptation of the hard life of poor Miss Takamine, from a novel by Ogai Mori. Toyoda was one of the many talented Japanese directors of the era. He directed his first movie in 1929, the last of almost 70 in 1976. He was best regarded for his literary adaptations like this one.
There are no clear villains in this movie. Everyone is trapped into the role that circumstances and economics dictates. They all long be free, but which of them will escape, like the wild geese that still flew over Tokyo in the time this movie is set?
He is desperately in love with Miss Takamine. She likes him, but as she gradually learns the truth about him, she comes to despise him and herself. She takes refuge in a wished-for love of Hiroshi Akutagawa, a handsome medical student who killed a snake trying to eat her caged pet bird. He is focused on his studies and hopes to pass a test that will send him off to faraway Europe with a decent stipend.
Shirô Toyoda directs this fine adaptation of the hard life of poor Miss Takamine, from a novel by Ogai Mori. Toyoda was one of the many talented Japanese directors of the era. He directed his first movie in 1929, the last of almost 70 in 1976. He was best regarded for his literary adaptations like this one.
There are no clear villains in this movie. Everyone is trapped into the role that circumstances and economics dictates. They all long be free, but which of them will escape, like the wild geese that still flew over Tokyo in the time this movie is set?
The difficult situation of a married wife in Japan finding out that her husband has another wife.
clanciai17 October 2020
A young beautiful delicate woman is tricked into marriage with a money-lender, fooled by her mother, who wants the money-lender for her son-in-law to get rid of her debts, and she tells her daughter that he is a widower. He is not. His wife is still there with two children, and when the bartered concubine and the real wife learn about each other, and the new bride realizes that she has been tricked, this film becomes truly interesting. She evades the old wife consistently in sheer terror of her righteous bitterness, while the reality of her own situation of humiliation gradually becomes unbearable. At the same time, the money-lender is in a tragic and awkward situation himself as well, and to all this comes the complication of a young student of medicine, as he and the young wife develop some affection for each other. It's a very human story of very human predicaments filmed with supreme delicacy, bringing out all the passionate feelings of the players without these having to show them, it's all under perfect restraint, consistently keeping up an exquisite style of extreme artistry, to which also the wonderful misty cinematography and the endearingly beautiful music bring some additions to bring this cinematographic work of art to perfection. There is nothing more to be said than to agree with a previous critic, summarizing the impressions to 100% perfection - it's a Madame Butterfly in perfect Japanese without opera and dramatic climaxes but instead the more delicate and beautiful in consummate human sensitivity.
A poignant tale of sacrifice and lost dreams*
jamesrupert201425 October 2023
In late Meiji Japan, a young woman whose reputation had been sullied by being tricked into a false marriage is again deceived, this time into becoming the mistress of a 'widowed owner of a kimono-shop' (Eijiro Tono), only to discover that his is actually a detested money-lender with a living, and resentful, wife. The story is touching and melancholy and Hideko Takamine is outstanding as Otama, a wistful young woman who slowly realises that, as the 'kept woman' of a hated man, she has become a pariah. The rest of cast is excellent (Miki Odagiri is quite funny as Otama's sometimes exuberant maid) and the black-and white cinematography is moody and perfect for the story. Like many Japanese films of the era, cultural transition is a dominant trope. Otama always wears a kimono and keeps her hair in an ornate traditional style, while her 'master' frequently wears Western-style business attire, and the young medical student (Hiroshi Akutagawa) that Otama becomes infatuated with, dreams of travelling to Europe to train as a doctor. Tranquil, sad, and beautiful. Best watched on a quiet evening with a nice bottle of saké. *watched as 'The Wild Geese' with English sub-titles.
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