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8.0
/10
149 Ratings

GIRLS OF THE NIGHT

女ばかりの夜 | Onna bakari no yoru

Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka
Japan, 1961
Drama
  • 9393 minutes

Synopsis

Kuniko, a former sex worker, is released from a reformatory, where she was incarcerated under Japan’s Prostitution Prevention Law. Her hopes of starting a new life are dashed when her past resurfaces. Before long, Kuniko finds herself trapped in a vicious cycle, with little hope of escape.

Synopsis

Kuniko, a former sex worker, is released from a reformatory, where she was incarcerated under Japan’s Prostitution Prevention Law. Her hopes of starting a new life are dashed when her past resurfaces. Before long, Kuniko finds herself trapped in a vicious cycle, with little hope of escape.

Our take

Fusing realism with melodrama, Kinuyo Tanaka’s penultimate feature confronts a callous legal system that penalizes sex work yet obstructs the path to rehabilitation. Exposing the hypocrisies attached to different forms of labor, this subversive drama counters prejudice with women’s resilience.