After successfully collaborating on “The Eternal Breast”, director/actress Kinuyo Tanaka and scriptwriter Sumie Tanaka would work together again when it came to the adaptation of a Masako Yana novel. Her fifth feature, which would only be followed by “Love Under the Crucifix”, after which the filmmaker would concentrate more on acting again, appearing mostly in Japanese television, focuses on themes she had discussed previously, most significantly the status of women within the society of her home country. “Girls of the Night” tells a story of a woman trying to adapt to a society after being labeled rehabilitated from her previous life as an “honorableness woman of the night”, and her struggles as no matter what she does, her reputation and her past follow her. It is a challenging film, even by today's standards, and probably Tanaka's strongest effort as a director.
“Girls of the Night” is screening at the BFI London as part of “Kinuyo Tanaka: A Life in Film”
After 1958, prostitution was branded illegal by the Japanese government, resulting in a series of arrests and raids in the underworld, mostly concentrating on prostitutes. The women are sorted into two categories, with those deemed incurable sent to prison and the others serving six months at a rehabilitation center, where they learn to adapt to society and lead a normal life. Kuniko (Hisako Hara) shows a lot of promise, according to the heads of Shiragiku Protective Facility, and is often presented as a case most likely to succeed in the world outside, which is why she is given a job as a maid/clerk in a local store.
However, while Kuniko certainly does her best, even accepting the low pay, the store owner's wife has her suspicions about her husband's new employee, given her background. Eventually the two clash, after her husband is left alone with Kuniko for a few days. When it becomes evident her first attempt at a new life is a failure, the head of the rehabilitation center, Nogami (Chikage Awashima), does not want to give up on her most promising case, and supports a new try. Nevertheless, this one is also doomed to fail.
While the story focuses mainly on Kuniko, Tanaka's fifth feature may actually be divided into two parts, with the first part following the protagonist's story, whereas the second one shows the lives of the other women in the rehabilitation center, including the administration. Similar to her previous works, the fate of the main character and thus the other female character we encounter in the story, reflect social issues closely connected to the status of women, the kind of work available to them, their value in comparison to men and overall the concept of marriage and sex. For example, in the first minutes of “Girls of the Night”, we meet several of these titular girls, as they are perceived through the eyes of a group of women, friends and benefactors of the center, who experience them with a mixture of sympathy and emotional distance. Tanaka's approach highlights the various facets of how women like Kuniko are regarded (and thus assessed) in the eyes of society, and, in a broader context, even Japanese popular culture at the time.
Although Hisako Hara carries the majority of the feature, playing the main character, “Girls of the Night” is in many ways an ensemble piece. Especially in the aforementioned beginning, you are introduced to the various women, their stories, and, most interestingly, their attitude towards their former profession, with some of them longingly awaiting the moment when they can get back on the streets, even if it means risking a prison sentence. Sumie Tanaka's script cleverly juxtaposes characters like Kuniko and Nogami, emphasizing not just the different outlook on certain matters, but also the conservative notion towards prostitution as well as sexuality. In a thought-provoking and quite clever performance, Hara stresses the development of Kuniko, realizing how the road toward a “normal life” may not just be impossible, but also that she was perhaps wrong when considering her past as a mistake, as it may just be some kind of vocation. Or at the very least, offering a kind of freedom which seems enclosed to her when pursuing the “normal life”.
In the end, “Girls of the Night” is a clever feature which deals with themes such as gender roles, sexuality and freedom in often provocative fashion, even by today's standards. Kinuyo Tanaka's fifth directorial effort is easily her best work in terms of storytelling, supported by great performances and a solid script.
