Description:

Akasen chitai - This was the last film of Mizoguchi Kenji (more known for “Ugetsu” and “Sansho The Bailiff"). It is based on the novel “Susaki no Onna” by Yoshiko Shibaki.

The film is highly recommended because Mizoguchi never judges his women. He engulfs you in their world. Therefore, do not be mislead by the English title. The film is known in Japan as “Off Limits". Without tainting the potential viewer’s experience, “Street of Shame” is neither hopeful nor hopeless; it exists on another level.

The story follows five women (Hanae, Yumeko, Yorie, Yasumi, Mickey) who work at “Dreamland", a brothel in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district. They are of different ages and personalities; some work to support their entire family, while others work hard to simply make money, to live an individual life. The Diet (government) is set to decide if prostitution should be banned, which affects the future of all five women. More importantly, the film transcends the issue of prostitution and instead, focuses on the same human emotions that people deal with today.

DIRECTED BY: MIZOGUCHI KENJI

STARRING: Machiko Kyo, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao, Michiyo Kogure, Kumeko Urabe

1956 - JAPANESE with OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES - B&W - FULL SCREEN - 87 MINUTES