Apart from You
Apart From You (君と別れて, Kimi to wakarete) is a 1933 Japanese silent drama film written and directed by Mikio Naruse. The film follows an aging geisha whose teenage son is ashamed of her profession, and their relationship with a young colleague of hers.
| Apart From You | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Mikio Naruse |
| Written by | Mikio Naruse |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Suketaro Inokai |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes[1] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Plot
Kikue (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) is an aging geisha. Her teenage son, Yoshio (Akio Isono), is ashamed of her profession, skipping classes and hanging out with a gang of hoodlums. A young colleague of Kikue, Terugiku (Sumiko Mizukubo), whom Yoshio feels close to like a sister, invites him to her parents' home in a fishermen's village. Yoshio witnesses a fight between Terugiku and her father, because she opposes her family's plan to sell her younger sister Misako to a geisha house like herself, and blames her father for his drinking and irresponsible behaviour. Later, Terugiku confesses to Yoshio her more than platonic feelings for him, and tries to get him to be more understanding of his mother. After a suggested suicide attempt by Kikue, Yoshio decides to return to his studies. When he tells the members of his gang that he wants to quit, he is beaten up and Terugiku injured with a knife. After her recovery, Terugiku leaves the city, hinting at having taken up a profitable occupation which she loathes, only to save her sister Misako from the same fate.
Cast
- Mitsuko Yoshikawa as Kikue
- Akio Isono as Yoshio
- Sumiko Mizukubo as Terugiku
- Reikichi Kawamura as Terugiku's father
- Tatsuko Fuji as Terugiku's mother
- Yoko Fujita as Misako, Terugiku's sister
- Tomio Aoki as Terugiku's brother
- Jun Arai as Kikue's patron
- Chōko Iida as landlady of the geisha house
Reception
Keith Uhlich of Slant Magazine gave the film two and a half out of four stars, comparing its "superficial stylistic flourishes" to Naruse's previous film No Blood Relation. Ulrich adds, "Yet it is nonetheless a much more focused and sustained work, bearing some evidence—via several beautifully visualized superimpositions—of the director's developing interest in character psychology."[2] Film scholar Alexander Jacoby described Apart From You as a melodrama "of remarkable intensity", demonstrating "a considerable stylistic virtuosity".[3]
Home media
In 2011, Apart From You was released on a five-film DVD set by The Criterion Collection's Eclipse label. Titled "Silent Naruse", it collected five silent films made between 1931 and 1934.[4]
References
- "Apart from You in the Japanese Movie Database" (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- Keith Uhlich (30 November 2005). "Apart from You". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
- Dave Kehr (18 March 2011). "A Master's Baby Steps". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
External links
- Apart from You at IMDb
- Apart From You at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
- Kerpan, Michael. "Apart From You in Senses of Cinema, Issue 39 (5 May 2006)". Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- Keller, Craig. "Apart From You at Cinemasparagus (10 September 2011)". Retrieved 18 January 2021.
Bibliography
- Russell, Catherine (2008). The Cinema of Naruse Mikio: Women and Japanese Modernity. Durham and London: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-4290-8.