Any fan of Akira Kurosawa will want to see this. It was the last screenplay he wrote, and four years after his death it was brought to film by director Kei Kumai. It has been said that Kurosawa treated women badly in his movies. This was to be a testament to his feminism, and in the hands of Kumai, it certainly delivers.

The story follows the struggles of a 19th-century prostitute, O-Shin, who falls (against all warnings) for a young samurai. Her heart is broken, but she eventually finds the love she seeks after discovering the support and devotion of her “family” of coworkers in the brothel. The cinematography would have made Kurosawa proud, especially the use of color in the costumes and the contrast of nature with the dullness of the brothel district. I’d recommend seeing this along with “Memoirs of a Geisha” for a double dose of kimono culture.

(Note: Dialog in Japanese; subtitled in English.)