Kenji Mizoguchi

There have been many films made about prostitutes, courtesans and concubines, but in Kenji Mizoguchi 1952 film The Life of Oharu the principal is all three. However, it’s more in the territory of Raise the Red Lantern or Farewell My Concubine than Pretty Woman. Whilst prostitutes tend to be gin-soaked cockneys in British period dramas, …