Yūzō Kawashima — Playwright (12)

Movie

Our Chief, Our Doctor (1952)
とんかつ大将 WikiData IMDb TMDB
other title: とんかつ大将
It chronicles the experiences of a neighbourhood doctor, whose taste for tonkatsu (a popular Japanese dish, similar to a pork schnitzel) earns him the nickname ‘the pork cutlet prince’ (‘Tonkatsu Taisho’, the film’s Japanese title) from the affectionate residents of the tenement in which he lives. When a local hospital, run by a female doctor, plans to expand, the future of the tenement is called into question.

Movie

Woman Unveiled (1958)
女であること IMDb TMDB
other title: 女であること
A childless lawyer and his wife take in the quiet daughter of an imprisoned client, whose presence eventually creates romantic tension with the husband. The household dynamic is further disrupted by the arrival of a bold friend from Osaka and the wife's chance encounter with a former flame.

Movie

Room for Let (1959)
貸間あり IMDb TMDB
other title: 貸間あり
When Yumiko Tsuyama, a potter by profession, comes inquiring about a room for rent in an old mansion overlooking Osaka, she finds a bizarre collection of characters already living there. The unlikely leader of this menagerie is Yoda Goro, who speaks four languages fluently, is an expert in cabbage rolls, and has written how-to books encompassing every aspect of human existence.

Movie

The Temple of Wild Geese (1962)
雁の寺
other title: Le Temple des Oies Sauvages / 雁の寺 …
Satoko is a mistress by trade or fate: when her master, the silkscreen artist of the Kohoan Temple in Kyoto, dies, she is given to the temple's lascivious head priest Kikuchi. She is drawn to a melancholy young acolyte, Jinen, who has observed the profligacy of his cruel master and Satoko's utter dependence on the man. Jinen is both fascinated and disturbed by Satoko's interest in him; he is similarly caught between loathing of Kikuchi and of the dark circumstances of his birth and his own moral weakness. The story unfolds in a dreamlike manner—a flashback inspired by a now-infamous image on a silkscreen in the souvenir shop at the so-called Temple of the Wild Geese.

Movie

Hungry Soul, Part II (1956)
続・飢える魂 IMDb TMDB
other title: 続・飢える魂
A continuation of Hungry Soul, from the same year. Reiko, who tolerates abuse in her marriage to a man 23 years her senior, is friends with Mayumi, a beautiful widow. Reiko meets her husband’s business rival, a young, capable businessman, and falls for him. Meanwhile, Mayumi enters into a relationship with Shimotsuma, a friend of her late husband.

Movie

The Balloon (1956)
風船 WikiData IMDb TMDB NeoDB
other title: 風船 / Fūsen …
Haruki Murakami is a successful family man and the head of a camera company. Unbeknownst to Murakami, his arrogant son oscillates between a mistress and a new lover who sings at a nightclub. When Murakami’s daughter befriends the mistress, the affair throws the family into turmoil.

Movie

Hungry Soul (1956)
飢える魂 IMDb TMDB NeoDB
other title: 飢える魂
Reiko, who tolerates abuse in her marriage to a man 23 years her senior, is friends with Mayumi, a beautiful widow. Reiko meets her husband’s business rival, a young, capable businessman, and falls for him. Meanwhile, Mayumi enters into a relationship with Shimotsuma, a friend of her late husband.