FLUNKY, WORK HARD (1931)

Clocking in at only 28 minutes, FLUNKY, WORK HARD (Mikio Naruse's 8th film and his earliest work available to the public...as of 2019)  tells the unfunny comedy/tragedy story of an insurance salesman who is not only terrible at his job, but is also terrible at being a loving father, being a supportive husband and being able to face reality.  Example: when the landlord knocks on the door because the rent is overdue, this stud runs and hides in the closet.  All of this is presented as somehow be funny.

After bravely hiding in his closet, he goes out to sell insurance, but doesn't close any deals.  Later on, while walking home empty-handed, he sees his young son, who had just defended himself against three other boys who tried to beat him up.  Once the father notices that one of the bullies is the son of a woman he's trying to sell insurance to, he starts yelling and smacking his kid around.  Dad of the Year right there.  The kid is understandably upset and runs off...and gets hit by a train!!!  What the hell?

I love Mikio Naruse's later masterpieces (like WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS), but this earlier stuff is definitely dated and not going to win over any new fans.  As a lifelong student of film, I'm glad I watched it and did notice some interesting filmmaking techniques (especially towards the end of the movie), but the average passive movie watcher will probably be bored.

FLOATING CLOUDS (1955)

Bust out yer handkerchiefs!  This is a sad one.

1946.  Looking to escape her brother-in-law who "violated" her, 22-year-old Yukiko (Hideko Takamine) takes a job as a typist in Indochina.  While there she falls in love with co-worker Tomioka (Masayuki Mori) who's not only married, but also a womanizing playboy as well.  Eventually he goes back to his wife in Japan and Yukiko follows.  She's brokenhearted and endlessly pines away for this guy.  As the years pass they both have relationships with other people but still end up together over and over and over again.  It's kind of fascinating in a way because while they're obviously not good for each other (and they know it) they've somehow grown this unbreakable bond that prevents them from ever being apart for too long.

This is only my second Mikio Naruse film and I thought it was fantastic.  Not only was it an engaging story but it features three of the top actors from WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS!  Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori and Daisuke Kato...how cool is that?!  Now I can't wait to see what other Naruse films I can locate.  Anyway, back to FLOATING CLOUDS...I really enjoyed Naruse's naturalistic style and how he kept showing the two main characters walking side-by-side.  It almost seemed like a way to show the passage of time.  Anyway, while the direction was masterful I was once again captivated by Hideko Takamine's performance.  She conveys so much with just her face and body language.  It's beautiful to watch.  Masayuki Mori ain't too shabby either.  

Highly recommended, but very depressing.

WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS (1960)

Keiko (played by Hideko Takamine) is lovingly referred to as Mama to everybody in her little world.  She's the hostess of one of the 700+ bars in the Ginza district of Tokyo that cater to well-to-do businessmen. It's not a whorehouse, but more like a laid back nightclub where men can come and relax and hang out with sexy chicks and, who knows, you might get lucky. At 30-years-old Mama is older than most of the girls, but because she's a widow and has never slept with a customer she has developed a kind of reverence among the customers and the other girls.

When we meet Mama she's at a crossroads in her life. Should she try to marry one of the rich customers or should she try to gather up enough money to open her own bar? That's the two main choices she has, but as we all know, life has a way of throwing you all kinds of unexpected twists.

To most people that probably sounds boring, but thanks to Naruse's masterful direction, the amazing screenplay by Ryuzo (THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, YOJIMBO, SANJURO) Kikushima and such wonderful acting by everybody, including Tatsuya Nakadai as the bar manager who secretly in love with Mama, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.  Lovely music, good pace, beautiful photography...I cannot say enough wonderful things about this movie.  Highly recommended.  It gets even better with repeat viewings.