Namidagawa

His sensitive handling of feminine themes earned Misumi the nickname “little Mizoguchi.” In the melodrama RIVER OF TEARS, sisters Shizu and Taka look after their elderly, ailing father while dealing with their good-for-nothing brother, who regularly turns up in need of money. Both these factors stand in the way of marriage, so when Taka falls in love, she initially rejects the proposal. Shizu devises a plan to remove all obstacles to her sister’s happiness as discretely as possible. Misumi maintains a subtle balance between tragedy and comedy in this story of a woman’s life between duty, sisterhood, and tentative acknowledgement of her own desires.

Kenji Misumi (1921–75) was one of the most prominent directors of the Daiei studio, where he primarily made jidaigeki (period dramas) and became especially well known for his chanbara (“sword fighting” or samurai films). A visual virtuoso with a brilliant stylistic eye, his genre films bear a uniquely Misumi mark. His best films combine magnificent visuals with a feel for the psychological life of his characters. Misumi’s sword-fighting films received little international recognition during his lifetime, as they were regarded as mere spectacle.