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Women of the Night

Women of the Night

1948
Drama
1h 15m
Fusako Owada, a young woman in postwar Japan, is the mistress of a notorious drug dealer. Fusako's tenuous grasp on meaningful life is shaken when she learns that her lover is having an affair with her sister. (imdb)
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Women of the Night

1948
Drama
1h 15m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 64.32% from 107 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(107)
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Rated 11 Jan 2009
3
45th
Talk about down and out. This film is most interesting as a reflection of Postwar Japan, and the plight of prostitutes is perfectly suited to Mizoguchi's sensibilities. Apparently inspired by what Italian filmmakers were doing at the time, he takes to the streets to depict his most rugged characters in all their misery. Also notable is all the surprisingly frank discussion of STDs.
Rated 25 Feb 2016
15
81st
Star Rating: ★★★★
Rated 14 Jan 2018
60
51st
The fact that this kind of thing actually happened and continues to happen all over the world is sad. Unfortunately I couldn't really get into the film and even at around 80 minutes I felt like it dragged on especially during the middle.
Rated 11 Jun 2010
86
71st
As usual, Mizoguchi shows us how the callousness of men and economic necessity make of prostitution a continual resort for women, but in this movie he also makes it clear that the "fallen" women themselves, whose only real hope lies in each other, routinely treat one another with callousness and viciousness. Mizoguchi's ending suggests that there is hope, but only if such women can overcome their self-hatred and support each other. Features a fine performance by Kunuo Tanaka as Fusako.
Rated 09 Nov 2008
75
54th
Very dramatic compositions and camera moves. But the music just doesn't work, it comes in and out at awkward moments and never really gels with the action onscreen. I also had a problem with Fusako's life-changing decision, it didn't feel organic at all to me. I did appreciate the gritty realism, with Mizoguchi dealing quite frankly with prostitution, venereal disease, rape and drug use. However, I thought the ending was a little over-the-top (although certainly chilling).
Rated 27 Jan 2019
91
89th
Sabe o que é irônico aqui? Que um homem japonês de meados do século XX tinha mais consciência de gênero e classe a respeito de mulheres que trabalham com prostituição do que as feministas liberais do século XXI. Fenomenal retrato do patriarcado japonês pós-guerra. Coleção Folha/Versátil Grandes Diretores do Cinema.
Rated 14 Apr 2019
7
0th
A raw portrayal of post-war Japan, in all its ugliness. Some sequences are particularly difficult to watch, but the performances are worth the discomfort.
Rated 03 Jan 2020
60
10th
Viewed January 1, 2020.
Rated 19 May 2021
55
53rd
Affecting drama, and a portrait of prostitution that certainly goes far beyond anything that could be expected from Hollywood at that time, and probably at this time too. Evinces some real psychological and sociological understanding, but doesn't have a lot of laughs. Notable in that it frequently presents the audience with the sounds of trains but, unusually for a Japanese movie, never actually shows a train: what a tease.
Rated 17 Aug 2021
60
89th
Desperate times makes women do desperate things. Here focusing on prostitution and women generally being bad as a result of bad experiences, as life often goes. A good one for actress Kinuyo Tanaka, as a woman coping moderately after the war, only to have the little emotional stability she had left crushed, sending her life in a unwanted direction. Solid tragedy, but be ready for downward spiral without much hope. Depressing, and fairly open and direct by Japanese standards.

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