Two brothers, Jinta and Wataru, are raised in a travelling circus. After an accident, Jinta decides to leave the circus and travels the countryside working as a con-man. After a run-in with a local gang of yakuza, he is invited to join their ranks, where he makes the mistake of falling for a boss’s mistress. Wataru stays with the circus and works hard to regain its former glory.
Tag: JAPAN
Tashiro coincidentally meets his best friend Sugimoto in a bar very close to the apartment in which Sugimoto’s wayward wife is found dead. Although Tashiro is not a suspect in the police investigation, he is racked with guilt and confesses to his wife, Masako In an effort to further relieve his tortured sense of guilt, he then confesses to Sugimoto. Neither his wife nor his friend can believe that he could have been involved.
Tatsuo, a gruff-mannered woodsman who lives in the mountains near a Japanese coastal town, refuses to sell his land for a planned tourist theme park – the only resident to oppose the project.
An Inn at Osaka, rarely seen outside Japan, follows the story of an insurance company executive from Tokyo, Mr. Mito, who is demoted to the Osaka office. He takes a room at a small inn and tries to rebuild his life.
Postwar Tokyo. Pin and Toku live in the squatter area of Kappanuma, also known as “The Ditch”. Pin and Toku are avid gamblers. They take in Tsuru, a slightly demented woman who has run away from a geisha house. In order to rip Tsuru off, Pin lies that he’s a student who can’t afford his school fees. Tsuru willingly whores herself to support Pin. Eventually the neighbours start to exploit Tsuru as well.
Kyoko, the daughter of a successful novelist, marries an aspiring writer. However, her husband’s difficulties with his writing and his resentment over her father cause deep strains in the marriage.
In this intricately layered film, the nature of actresses and what they gain from acting is explored. The lives of three actresses are laid bare, and scenes from their lives are woven in and out of interviews with each of them. Each of them has experienced a traumatic event which contributes to their particular enjoyment of becoming someone else in dramatic roles.