Benedito Dias Rodrigues Master Mizogushi placed on screen two different kind of look of the gueishas's world,although they are sisters,the older is more wise and understanding about his position,the younger is more cold having in the men just a way to get an easy money,handling according his will,actually she hates them,along the movie the viewers will see two side of the street in two human being whose the life hurt too hard,nice piece of art of study of human nature!!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

MissSimonetta While not as brilliant as Mizoguchi's previous film from that year Osaka Elegy (1936), Sisters of the Gion (1936) is far from a bad follow-up. Like its predecessor, the film examines the way women in Japanese society were often treated like second class citizens, restricted by the sexual double standard.Isuzu Yamada and Yoko Umemura play two lower-class sisters who work as geisha. Yamada's character is outspoken in her discontentment and views men as "enemies." She decides to fleece her clients for all they've got so she can get by. Umemura's character is more traditional and submissive. An optimist, she tries her best to be kind to the men she works for. In the end, neither sister's approach lands them any happiness; in fact, you could say they end up worse than ever.Like Osaka Elegy, the film's conclusion is ambiguous and harrowing, with no resolution offered. More than Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion is an angry film, though it does possess enough humor and compassion to keep it from being merely that. It may not be Mizoguchi's best film, but it is worth your time.

mevmijaumau Sisters of the Gion is a story about two geisha sisters making a living in the Gion district of Tokyo. It's inspired by Aleksandr Kuprin's novel The Pit (Yama) and is directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, who became famous for the films of this kind, windows into the lives of people of lower social classes, specifically women, often prostitutes. This is among his more well-known films dealing with the topic. It was remade in 1956 by Hiromasa Nomura.This movie sort of reminds me of Ozu's films, in the sense that the camera is often positioned low, there's no action and the film appears to be a character study or a slice-of-life movie. Later it even becomes a mild revenge tale, which is admittedly a bit more passionate than Ozu's stories. The two sisters' conflicting opinions reflect the Japanese identity crisis between tradition and Western influences. That's why Umekichi is a submissive, traditionally raised geisha while Omocha is considerably more modern, wears Western clothing in her free time, and is more practical. Although she's shown to be a manipulative intrigant, she isn't seen in a negative light, but instead Mizoguchi places the blame on society itself.The image quality is foggy as is to be expected from a film this old, but despite that you can easily sense Mizoguchi's talent for framing shots and painting an interesting picture of the Gion district. The soundtrack, which is played only during the credits, is unusually lively and playful for a serious film like this.I honestly don't think this is one of Mizoguchi's better films. In fact, even though the runtime is just about over an hour, I found it to be a bit of a bore. However, you can't take away that it was a bold film in its day and age, and that the theme of conflict between Japanese traditions and Western influences seemed to be ahead of their time. This movie is from 1936, while movies by Ozu and Kurosawa, who often dealt with the same topic, are from the '50s and '60s.

MartinHafer "Sisters of Gion" is a Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It apparently must be very well thought of, as it's part of a set of Mizoguchi films in a DVD set from the artsy Criterion Collection. While I could see the artistry of the cinematography, I wasn't super-impressed by the story. It left me a bit flat.When the film begins, it looks a bit like a Yasujirô Ozu film because the camera in set at a level about that of a person sitting on the floor. And, like Ozu, the camera lens does not move back or forth.--it's a stationary box. But, unlike Ozu, while the cameraman does not move the camera, it does move on a track--making for an incredibly interesting opening shot. In fact, the film is full of interesting shots--with unusual angles, composition and depth. It's almost like the camera is a tiny one that is peeking into rooms--and it's very nice--probably the nicest looking Japanese cinematography from this era that I have seen.Now the story of "Sisters of Gion" ("Gion No Shimai") is not particularly enjoyable--mostly because the folks in it aren't particularly likable and the story is only mildly interesting--except, perhaps, to someone wanting insight into the role of women in 1930s Japan. This aspect of the film is unusual--how one woman embraces power and her sister embraces conventionality and kindness. It's obvious the film was not meant as a feel-good film but a sad portait of the lives of women in the lower classes.A man has just lost his business and moves in with the geisha he used to sponsor. You might have felt sorry for him, but in the process he left his family and seemed very self-involved. This geisha he goes to is a very nice and dutiful woman, as she is under no obligation to take him in but she does. However, her younger sister, also a geisha, is rather conniving and VERY practical. She will get a wealthy sponsor one way or another. This, ultimately, leads to a rather interesting relationship with Mr. Kimura--but you'll have to see that for yourself. I'd say that the acting, camera-work and direction were good. But I just didn't care a lot for the characters or their problems--though the story was darkly compelling and provocative.