When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)

Essential Viewing

Japan

Feature Film

Original Title: 女が階段を上る時

Director: Naruse Mikio

Writer: Kikushima Ryūzō

Cinematographer: Tamai Masao

Composer: Mayuzumi Toshirō

Cast: Takamine Hideko, Mori Masayuki, Dan Reiko, Nakadai Tatsuya, Katō Daisuke, Nakamura Ganjiro, Ozawa Eitarō, Awaji Keiko

Keiko (Takamine, exquisite), a popular yet principled bar hostess who has reached a certain age, finds that she must decide whether to open a bar of her own, move into alternative employment (not really an option), or get married – a decision complicated by the duplicitous actions of the men that surround her, in Naruse’s expertly crafted, beautifully acted, and quietly devastating character study. Iain.Stott