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When her father’s embezzlement threatens to put the family in serious financial trouble, Ayako, a telephone operator at a prominent pharmaceutical company, is forced to make a bold move. Pressured into becoming the mistress of her lecherous boss Asai in exchange for relief from the debts, Ayako’s decision sets her on a path of social disgrace and personal turmoil, despite her best intentions. Even Ayako’s workplace crush Susumu rejects her pleas for help, leaving her to navigate this hostile situation on her own. Tragic and uncompromising, Osaka Elegy depicts an older sister doing all she can to look after her family, yet failing to outplay a patriarchal system designed to keep her down.

A modern and confronting look at a woman’s place in both society and within her family, Osaka Elegy is a landmark work in director Kenji Mizoguchi’s filmography, revered for its pioneering and gender-conscious storytelling. This family drama serves as a stylistic exploration of gender and social injustice, subjects that cemented Mizoguchi’s status as one of Japan’s most influential filmmakers. Together with Sisters of the Gion, also released by Mizoguchi in 1936, Osaka Elegy forms a compelling diptych united by a shared cast, crew and thematic focus.