Story of a Prostitute (1965)

Story of a Prostitute is a very melodramatic film from freewheeling Japanese director Seijun Suzuki. Almost all of his films deal with gangsters or the Japanese yakuza, so it's strange to see him helming a film of such a different nature. Honestly, I think he worked better with the gangster films, simply because he knew them best.

Story of a Prostitute isn't a bad film, it's more than entertaining. But, it feels extremely manipulative. It relies on some fairly cheap tactics in terms of setting and music/editing to further it's emotional impact, which some people don't mind, but it bothers me to no end.

Visually, the style is very bold and effective. Many Japanese directors, most notably Suzuki, have great command of the 2.35:1, aka Scope, frame. Suzuki frequently places people on opposite sides of the frame during conversations, or places action off to one corner of the screen when it could very easily be shown in the center. One one hand, it shows a ton of bravura and looks very pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, it may seem kind of shallow and definitely calls attention to itself, which some might say is the biggest no-no in shooting film.

The plot, actually, reminds me a lot of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Actually, reminds me of how I feel about Romeo and Juliet, rather. There are many different ways of interpreting any work of art, so my views are simply my own. But, for my money, Romeo and Juliet were never in love. Look at Romeo, he's a mopey emo kid whining about how his ex left him. Then, there's Juliet, wishing for something more in her idyllic but ultimately dreary life. They meet, and it's strictly puppy love. They get so worked up over it that they take it to the extreme and kill themselves. Heck, I know I've acted impulsively under the influence of young love, and still do. But, therein lies the tragedy and effect of Shakespeare's story. That's what Story of a Prostitute reminds me of; two people that blindly fall for one another out of circumstance, with tragic consequences.