The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum
(1939)
★ 7.8 IMDb · 133 votes
Year: 1939
Runtime: 144 мин
Country: Japan
Director: Кэндзи Мидзогути
Cast: 花柳章太郎, 森赫子, 高田浩吉, 高松錦之助, Gonjurô Kawarazaki, Benkei Shiganoya, 花岡菊子, 伏見信子, 結城一朗, 六代目 嵐徳三郎
Plot
In late 19th-century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that the praise he receives is only due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love. Kikunosuke becomes determined to leave home and develop as an actor on his own merits, and Otoku faithfully joins him.
In Tokyo in 1888, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adoptive son of an important actor, discovers that he is praised for his acting only because he is his father's heir, and that the troupe complains how bad he is behind his back. The only person to talk to him honestly about his acting is Otoku, the wet-nurse of his adoptive father's child. She is fired by the family, and Kikunosuke is forbidden to see her, because of the gossip a relationship with a servant would cause. Kikunosuke falls in love with Otoku, and leaves home to try to make a living on his own merits outside Tokyo. He is eventually joined by Otoku, who encourages him to become a famous actor to regain the recognition of his family.