Tokyo March

Tokyo, a city of culture…a capital of debauchery

Tokyo March is a film fragment and thus difficult to rate. Originally 75-100 minutes long it now clocks in at a scant 27 minutes.

After orphaned Michiyo was laid off from her factory job her uncle wanted her to become a “geisha” like her mother to help support the family. The translation geisha was probably incorrect as it seemed she needed no training and was expected to sleep with men as well as entertain rowdy crowds.

She met Fujimoto, his son Yoshiki and Yoshiki’s best friend, Sakuma, during their visits. Each of the men fell in love with her. Papa Fujimoto discovered a secret bordering on Greek tragedy that set off an emotional bomb in the group.

An early Japanese melodrama, with a relatively complete beginning, middle, and end the 27 minutes were a worthwhile watch to see the director’s take on social and gender issues. I would like to have seen the completed work to hopefully better understand the characters’ emotions and why they were as devoted as they appeared to be.

The acting was fine for the most part though there was some hammy overacting by a couple of actors. Instead of just dialogue printed there was also some narrative content though I don’t know if that was done by a later party. The original music was missing as well.

Tokyo March was a quick and entertaining watch. The opening scene is badly damaged but most of the rest is discernible.

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