Tuesday, 22 May 2012

When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (1960)



☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) – M. Naruse

Naruse's emotionally draining tale of the struggles of a 30 something bar hostess who longs for something different is somehow still uplifting (in its tribute to resilience). The plot may be melodramatic (and a case in point of women's trials in a male-dominated world) but Hideko Takamine rises above it with dignity, subtlety, and, yes, grace.(The rest of the cast are none too shabby either). The viewer is suspended in time, on the edge of the knife, awaiting Takamine's fortune.


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