While I have of course heard the name Mizoguchi Kenji, the only films of his that I have watched are Ugetsu (1953) and The New Tale of the Heike (1955) and while I did enjoy both of them, mainly the former, for the most part I did not have a particularly strong interest in watching Mizoguchi's films because at the time I was embroiled within the filmic worlds of Kitano Takeshi, Iwai Shunji, Miike Takashi, etc. However, as time passed my interest in older Japanese films began to increase, so now I am trying to broaden my knowledge of classic Japanese films, especially those that were filmed before 1945 of which I have only seen a handful.<br /><br />Mizoguchi is well known in the world of Japanese film, because he was one of the first Japanese directors to put the role of women in Japanese society on the center stage. He is often criticized by later film viewers and critics because his women, while strong, only could find true security in the world of men by adaptation to the males around them. However, of course, it should be noted that for his time the films he created were quite different than the casual fare. Like Imamura Shohei, Mizoguchi Kenji tended to make films about those in the lower strata of society and the ways in which the rich can destroy these individuals' lives.<br /><br />Sisters of Gion tells the story of Umekichi and Omocha an older and younger geisha trying to make the best of their lives in a time in which the patronage of geisha is on the downswing. Gentle and kind, Umekichi takes in her lover Furusawa after his business goes bankrupt. She states that she only does so because she owes him for helping her become a full fledged geisha, but it is obvious that she loves the destitute ma. Omocha, young, better educated, and brash dislikes Furusawa because he is sponging off Umekichi and decides that she needs to be rid of him. However, her methods might lead to a bad conclusion.<br /><br />A wonderful film that clocks in at a little less than seventy minutes, Sisters of Gion has a dark theme. Both Umekichi and Omocha, while being of complete different personalities, are both victims of their positions in society. Without a rich patron to depend on, their lives are quite vicarious, and as in the case of Umekichi, as the women get older their positions become even more precarious.