When A Woman Ascends the Stairs (Onna ga kaidan o noboru toki)

1960, 86 min., 35mm, b&w. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Directed by Mikio Naruse. Written by Ryuzo Kikushima. Cinematography by Masao Tamai. Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi. With Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, Tatsuya Nakadai, Daisuke Kato, Ganjiro Nakamura, Eitaro Ozawa. Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation with permission from Janus Films and Home Vision Entertainment.

Hideko Takamine gives a tour-de-force performance in the role of a childless widow who works as a bar madame in Tokyo‘s exclusive Ginza nightclub district. Trying her best to maintain her decency while others easily succumb to greed and power, she is betrayed by the men surrounding her while unable to reciprocate the romantic feelings of a young bartender.

Tickets: $10; Japan Society members, seniors & students $5.