The Straits of Love and Hate

The print I saw was in terrible condition which almost certainly impacted my enjoyment. Despite this it was still a very effective piece of melodrama.

Standard Mizoguchi story with solid but unremarkable performances. I can't really speak to the cinematography or subtle edits and camera work due to the poor print I had to watch. I would love to see a proper restored version with good subtitles to better evaluate my opinion of this film.

68 where "68" is hard to judge due to age, ignore the "not that hot" message. ASIDE this movie has NOT been restored so poor prints are all that is available. Avoid Chinese subbed into Eng versions, there are stories that these are poor. Tho a standard melodrama, considering its age this is quite watchable allowing for the poor visuals

Not as soul-crushing as Mizoguchi's other works. The film has a casual pace and moments of comedy (often in conjunction with moments of tragedy). Although you couldn't say that things go swimmingly for Ohumi, her fate is not as cruel as most Mizoguchi heroines. The print was awful, so it's hard to comment on the technical aspects, but there were some nice tracking shots. Not one of his greatest films, but a good one with excellent characterization, and it's nice to see a lighter-hearted touch.

A good bridge in style between Osaka Elegy/Sisters of the Gion and Story of the Late Chrysanthemums. I, too, saw an awful print with some ridiculous subtitling but this is a nice light movie from Mizoguchi.

I admit I struggled with this Kenji Mizoguchi film. Inspired by Tolstoy's Resurrection, it's still a fairly ordinary bastard child story where a innocent mother works in sleazy place to support herself and changes into a true bargirl. Apart from the first scene where she shows her hostess persona, there wasn't all that much that really caught my attention other then it being a decent melodrama.