Having seen 5 of Mizoguchi’s films, and mostly all from his last years (Lady from Musoshino, Life of Oharo, Sansho, Ugetsu, Street of Shame); and owning another 10 I figure that it is time for me to go on a Mizoguchi-binge, much like I had done with Ozu a few years ago, so that I could become better aquainted with the great director.

So, I started with Osaka Elegy, which I’m a little sorry to say, but I didn’t finish it. At only 71 minutes, it plays more like 3 hours, and not only is the pace of the film unnecessarily slow, but the film itself is extremely static. I would compare it to watching a bad Ozu film without the humor or the intersecting plotlines.

This being the earliest Mizoguchi that I have seen, I don’t know if I would consider this a hiccup for the director, or if he has still yet to find his groove, but I can say that after just finishing “Sisters of Gion” that ‘Sisters’ is a wholly better film, completed right after and in the same year as “Osaka Elegy”.

One day I will revisit this film, but for now I would have to give this lifeless film 2 stars out of 5.