The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

Original title: Zangiku monogatari

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)

The adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's g... Read allThe adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.The adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

4.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Trivia
This film is said by critics and scholars to epitomize the "one scene = one long shot" aesthetic of director Kenji Mizoguchi. In fact, there are many scenes that have no internal cuts, and the entire film contains almost no close-ups.

Goofs
Otoku is a wet nurse but there is no mention of her having had a child (or having been pregnant).

Quotes
Kikunosuke Onoue: I've never been as happy as I was the other night. People always flatter me to my face, then happily ridicule me behind my back. You're the first to speak to me with real warmth and sincerity.
Otoku: To hear that it pleased you so makes me so very happy.
Kikunosuke Onoue: Those geisha and other women make a fuss over me only because I'm Kikugoro's son. They couldn't care less about my acting. If I gave up my place as Kikugoro's heir, nobody would give a damn about me. I've been so lonely. When you spoke to me the way you did, for the first time in my life I felt a happiness that touched me deeply. It was like climbing a mountain pass on a hot summer's day and drinking from a cold stream.

Connections
Referenced in Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

Possibly Mizoguchi's finest pre-war film

Along with "Sisters of the Gion"(1936) and "Osaka Elegy"(1936), "Zangiku monogatari" is a strong candidate for Kenji Mizoguchi's finest pre-war film. It is one of the greatest and most beautiful films I have ever seen - a profoundly sublime, heartbreaking love story between a Kabuki actor(Shotaro Hanayagi) and working class servant (Kakuko Mori) who makes sacrifices to herself to ensure his theatrical success. The film, filled with dazzling long takes and rich Sternbergian compositions, centers on Mizoguchi's characteristic theme: the shallowness of men and the generosity of women. Rarely has a Mizoguchi film seem at once so sublime and devastating in its impact. The final sequence alone is among the finest in all of cinema.

My favorite Mizoguchi remains "The Life of Oharu"(1952); "Zangiku monogatari" is not very far behind.