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Story of a Prostitute

Story of a Prostitute

Drama · Romance · War · 1965

Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute is a tragic love story as well as a rule-bending take on a popular Taijiro Tamura novel, challenging military and fraternal codes of honor, as seen through Harumi's eyes.

Movie details

Story of a Prostitute

1965 Drama · Romance · War 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute is a tragic love story as well as a rule-bending take on a popular Taijiro Tamura novel, challenging military and fraternal codes of honor, as seen through Harumi's eyes.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Story of a Prostitute?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Seijun Suzuki

Written by

Hajime Takaiwa

Tamio Kawachi

Tamio Kawachi

Shinkichi Mikami

Yumiko Nogawa

Yumiko Nogawa

Harumi

Isao Tamagawa

Isao Tamagawa

Narita

Shoichi Ozawa

Shoichi Ozawa

Akiyama

Toshio Sugiyama

Toshio Sugiyama

Tomoda

Daizaburo Hirata

Daizaburo Hirata

Cast

Tomiko Ishii

Tomiko Ishii

Yuriko

Court is in session

Put Story of a Prostitute on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.