Koi mo wasurete (1937) Reviews

• 30's Japanese Melodrama About a Single Mother

  pscamp012013-03-04

  This is a 1930's drama from Hiroshi Shimizu that feels like one of his other movies with a little Mizoguchi thrown in. It is the story of a single mother who works as a bar hostess to provide for her son. Her goal is to make sure he gets a good education so that he can become "a big man." The trouble begins, as it often does in Japanese movies, when the son finds out what it is that his mother does--or more specifically, when his friends find out and start to ostracize him. The movie starts out fairly light-hearted but then gets darker as both mother and son discover that they are trapped in their social situations no matter what they try to do. There are probably a million Japanese movies with similar plots and some them can be a slog to get through. This one is enjoyable though for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the relationship of the boy and his mother. It is affecting to watch him struggle with both his embarrassment and his love for her. There are a few of the on location outdoor scenes that Shimizu is famous for, but most of the movie was shot in sets. Some of the sets have a sparse look about them that gives the movie a cheap feeling, but others have an almost expressionist look, that when combined with some fog, give them a rather sinister quality that adds to the movie's atmosphere.