One of the most popular actors of her time, Kinuyo Tanaka appeared in over 250 films and collaborated with such legends as Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, and Kenji Mizoguchi. (Her performance in Ozu’s proto-noir Dragnet Girl will actually be coming to IU Cinema’s screen next year as part of our 2023 Jon Vickers Scoring Award.) In 1953, Tanaka boldly began directing her own films, refusing to be discouraged by the lack of other women filmmakers in the Japanese film industry and the dismissal of mentors like Mizoguchi. With the help of the Shintoho studio and her friends Ozu and Naruse, Tanaka directed six films between 1953 and 1962, beginning with Love Letter/Koibumi.
Penned by the influential gay filmmaker Keisuke Kinoshita, Love Letter received critical acclaim at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival and surprised critics who expected Tanaka’s directorial debut to be a more conventional domestic melodrama focused on women rather than the sensitive portrayal of post-war Japan and its returning soldiers that it was. Thanks to recent 4K restorations of her films, Tanaka is slowly being recognized as an auteur in her own right, as noted by Vogue, the Criterion Collection, and MUBI. Join us for the new restoration of Love Letter at IU Cinema on September 6 and see for yourself the lyricism and poignancy of Tanaka’s work.
“A technically astute, wonderfully adult examination of the impossible predicaments women find themselves in.” – Nicholas Bell, ION Cinema
In lieu of a trailer for the film, which couldn’t be found, enjoy this trailer from the Lincoln Center, who presented a complete retrospective of Tanaka’s directorial works earlier this year, including Love Letter.
A new 4K restoration of Love Letter will be screened at IU Cinema on September 6 at 7 pm as part of the Women on Top series.