Yumi is a very beautiful young girl who as the narrative opens, escapes from her lover in Osaka, who’s just gone bankrupt, and wants to commit double suicide with her. Amano is an investigating officer and he was kind enough to hand over some money to Yumi so that she could go back home to Fukushima and be with her mother. But instead of making it home, Yumi pockets the cash and decides to stay back in Osaka with the intention of eventually learning the trade at one of Nishijin-ori small companies. Eventually they don’t take her on but rather she ends up working in an escort service which also doubles as a hush-hush form of prostitution. In short, she runs into Amano again who this time serves as her surety for her apprenticeship dream come true.
While there however, she gets wind of what’s going on behind the scenes as Toyo, the actual boss desires both Yoshida, a talented young weaver and herself sexually. Moreover, once a customer recognizes her from before when she used to sell herself for sex while now another client wants her married off like his father did him.
So she decides to become a femme fatale and use her body to get what she wants through Yoshida, who is in love with her.
Like it has been said before about Yoichi Takabayashi’s work, the most remarkable aspect of it is that despite being written as happening in the 70s, could easily be set in any other period showing that even though there has been technological advancement some things particularly concerning women’s position and the poor have not changed. The theme of textile industry, their relationship with one another and Yumi’s clothing which are at times kimonos but also western/modern dresses among other things are examples of how they all point towards similar direction which is quite amazing.
Lastly, what makes Yumi so fascinating or rather complex than anyone else can ever be? She seems to be playing between a victim and a femme fatale character: someone that prefer using sex for anything once such a need arises and may not like doing so unless pushed there.
Every time she tries to turn her life around, her past and low social standings come into play as a barrier that makes her feel justified in behaving the way she does. However, in some cases, she goes beyond limits especially with Amano and the finale’s violent outbreak accentuates this pattern perfectly well.
Yoshie Shimamura is fantastic in what is a very difficult role that also features her in a few erotic scenes, but mostly without nudity. The most valuable aspect of the movie is how well it manages this contradiction. Another strong performance by one of women Yoko Mihara who plays Yumi’s boss Toyo; someone sexually aroused as if driven by greed for sex and who might be seen as a sort of alternate path to which Yumi could have followed from the beginning. Moreover, her character provides most of the humour in the film; not forgetting another scene involving repeated massage sessions may be considered as one the funniest moments.
It is also worth noting how the men in the story are all micromanaged by these two women, which further helps shape their characters and performances; this picks up on a feminist motif that predominantly results in most of them being depicted as oversexed, alcoholic fools or good-natured idiots. Amongst the male actors, Yoshio Tsuchiya’s portrayal of Yoshida provides the most engaging performance, eloquently demonstrating his role as a victim as one of the leading figures in the movie at some stage obviously elevates its overall quality.
It is not easy to see a period/modern approach in Yoichi Takabayashi’s cinematography; he simply takes it as overly imposing by his impressive images that are often seen through the creation of fabrics including garments worn by women. Elsewhere, his manner goes for verisimilitude, though erotic scenes may be sensual or arty through close-ups taken with great intensity. Yukio Kimura, on the other hand, paces her editing at a moderately swift pace that suits the episodic structure of the narrative whilst enhancing the fun factor of watching this movie.
Sometimes, however, Takabayashi seems to waver between drama and period film, unsure where he wanted to go that much is clear. As far as “Double Suicide at Nishijin” is concerned, it is well shot throughout and continues to be interesting up till its end with eloquent comments presented in such a way that I could actually watch this old thing again today.
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