999

One of Mizoguchi's finest pictures. It embodies his strongest feminist statements, and even the "liberal" males in the story are unenlightened. What really elevates this one over similar works of his is the exquisite camerawork and the compelling lead performance by Mizoguchi regular Kinuyo Tanaka. It's also concise and tense and moving, and the music is suitable without being overwhelming. The only drawback is that Tanaka's character occasionally spells out the message too plainly.