The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) - Shimuzu

 

This film by Hiroshi Shimuzu is surprisingly delicate and complex and has some distinct Shimuzu characteristics.

The film starts with a long shot of a pair of blind masseurs walking along a road towards a town. They pass some schoolboys and a carriage carrying a woman from Tokyo.

In the village, friendships develop between one of the masseurs, a small boy, his uncle and the Tokyo woman. The Tokyo woman who is at the centre of this web of interconnections is played by a very charming Mieko Takamine. Her character is slightly enigmatic and mysterious which holds the tension in the plot. In the end, all the characters go their separate ways despite a desire for a deeper connection. The girl likes the uncle but she can't go to Tokyo and the fact that she's a geisha is unspoken to him. The masseur likes the girl but he is blind. The girl is caught in circumstance.

The film has a bit of a loose structure with interesting bits of other blind masseurs that don't further a singular plot. The film seems looser only in contrast with Ozu who has a tighter control. There is a sort of mathematical precision to Ozu. This idea was put into my head by the Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien although it wasn't until much later that I realized what he meant.

This film looked like it might be another Kawabata story but writing credits are to Hiroshi Shimuzu.