Seisaku no tsuma (1965)

Seisaku no tsuma (1965). Seisaku no tsuma: Directed by Yasuzô Masumura. With Ayako Wakao, Takahiro Tamura, Nobuo Chiba, Yûzô Hayakawa. On the eve of the Russo-Japanese war at the beginning of the 20th century, small-town girl Okane has married an old wealthy man to escape a life of poverty.

“A wild and fascinating melodrama full of passion, love, war, and hate.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJapan at the beginning of the 20th century. Okane, a beautiful girl from a poor family, must serve as a mistress to a much older rich man. When he and her father die, the young woman returns with her mother to their native village. The locals despise them because of Okaneu0026#39;s past, the young woman meets them with arrogance and haughty behavior. But then everything changes when her mother dies and the handsome Seisaku, a young man who is regarded as a model soldier and the son-in-law of their dreams by the villagers, helps her in this difficult situation. The two fall in love and marry against the spite of the whole village (their passionate sexual relationship is emphasized during the whole film), but then Seisaku has to go to war against the Russians and their world falls apart…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eViolent and passionate, wonderfully photographed and played (especially by the beautiful Ayako Wakao), full of hot tears but nevertheless never sentimentalist or kitschy, this Japanese film is a real discovery.”