A fifty-year-old prostitute, no longer able to attract men, looks back on her sad life. Once a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court at Kyoto, Oharu fell in love with, and became the lover of, a man below her station. They were discovered, and Oharu and her family were exiled. For Oharu there followed a life filled with one sorrow and humiliation after another.
Let's turn back the clock to 1952, a time that's often referred to as the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. Kenji Mizoguchi was one of the directors that made some of his most well-known pictures during this period, such as Ugetsu (1953) and Street of Shame (1956). He also made The Life of Oharu, a tough story about a woman who's life never seems to go in the right direction. Not much joy can be found in this tale, but if that isn't a problem for you, then you have a memorable classic in front of you.
Genre: Drama
