After making two monumental period dramas, Mizoguchi returned to contemporary matters in his legacy-making final film, as well as to the familiar world of the red-light district. Adopting a comparatively cooler and harsher tone, he brought together five prostitutes of different origins and with very different personalities, not least with regard to their work. They are linked by the fact that they all work at the same bar in Tokyo, as well as by the fact that parliament is currently debating an anti-prostitution law. They try to find alternative ways of making a living, but this is difficult in a world dominated by men and money. Whereas in the film the bill does not pass, in real life it did – in May 1956, after the film’s premiere, coming into effect a year later.
(arsenal Kino)