Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts (乙女ごころ三人姉妹?, Otome Gokoro Sannin Shimai) is a 1935 drama film created by Toho Company Ltd., and was the company's first movie. The film was released to Japanese theaters on March 1, 1935.
Plot[]
Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts tells the story of three very different siblings forced to work as samisen street musicians to make ends meet. O-Ren, the eldest, is on a downward spiral into Tokyo's Asakusa district underworld, exasperated middle sister O-some attempts to protect her sisters by appeasing their demanding mother Hahaoya, and Chieko, the youngest, pursues love and romance with kindly restaurateur Aoyama. Three Sisters is one of Naruse's most formally experimental works, making use of an intricate, yet playful flashback structure and a fluid, constantly moving camera to delineate the sisters' varying paths through life. Chieko's Folies Bergere-like dance numbers are a particular highlight, demonstrating Naruse's affinity with and understanding of the psychology of performance. And even at a relatively brief 64 minutes, it feels as if Three Sisters explores a lifetime of heartache and tragedy, culminating in a wrenching train station climax where O-some makes the ultimate sacrifice to preserve a complicated sense of familial status quo.
Staff[]
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Mikio Naruse
- Written by Yasunari Kawabata, and Mikio Naruse
- Music by Kyosuke Kami
- Cinematography by Hiroshi Suzuki
- Edited by Koichi Iwashita
Cast[]
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Chikako Hosokawa as O-Ren
- Masako Tsutsumi as O-Some
- Ryuko Umezono as Chieko
- Chitose Hayashi as Hahaoya
- Chisato Matsumoto as O-Haru
- Masako Sanjo as O-Shima
- Mariyo Matsumoto as O-Kinu
- Heihachiro Okawa as Aoyama
- Kaoru Ito as Wampaku
- Osamu Takizawa as Kosugi
- Akira Kishii as Kyaku
- Kamatari Fujiwara as Yopparai
- Masao Mishima as Bad boy at Rokku
- Jun Otomo as Bad boy at Rokku
Alternate Titles[]
- The Asakusa Sisters (Asakusashimai, lit. Asakusa Sisters)
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts was Mikio Naruse's first film with sound.
- The very first feature film produced by Toho Company Ltd.
- The film was released to Portugese theaters on March 2, 2009.