Kenji Mizoguchi
沟口健二
Japanese director, 1898–1956. His films centre largely on the circumstances of women, and he worked in long takes and distant framings, keeping scenes of suffering out of close-up. He took prizes at Venice in three consecutive years during the 1950s.
Career
Mizoguchi joined Nikkatsu in the 1920s and was already prolific in the silent period; his prewar work includes Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion. Wartime censorship pushed him towards subjects such as The 47 Ronin. Most of his early films have not survived.
His postwar work is represented by The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu and Sansho the Bailiff, which took prizes at Venice in three consecutive years from 1952. He worked in single takes for whole scenes, moving the camera slowly sideways and keeping suffering out of close-up. He died of leukaemia in 1956, aged fifty-eight.
Suggested Viewing Order
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