Yoshiwara: A Mood Piece That Gets Lost in the Fog

Should you watch this?

If you like movies that feel like they were painted on velvet, maybe. If you want a fast-paced thriller, stay far away. It’s for the folks who like staring at lighting setups and don’t mind if the plot takes a nap every ten minutes.

Walking into Yoshiwara feels like stepping into a room that’s been sealed shut for a hundred years. Everything is deliberate. Almost too deliberate.

The whole thing is built around this love triangle that never really sparks. You’ve got the Russian officer who is all stiff collars and awkward longing. Then there’s the rickshaw man, who spends most of his time looking wounded. Poor guy.

The lighting is the real star here. There’s a specific scene involving a lantern and a doorway that I’m still thinking about. The way the shadows just sort of swallow the actors whole? It’s great. It hides the fact that the dialogue is sometimes a bit of a slog.

Max Ophüls clearly wanted to create a mood. He does, but sometimes he forgets to give the people onscreen anything interesting to do besides sigh. It’s like watching a really fancy fishbowl.

Small things I noticed:

• The rickshaw man’s coat looks surprisingly heavy for a summer night in Tokyo.
• There is a background extra in the second act who seems to be walking the exact same circle for three minutes straight. I counted.
• The way they frame the faces makes everyone look like they are about to cry, even when they’re just eating rice.

It reminds me a bit of the heavy-handed drama you see in old films like The Greater Glory. It has that same sense of wanting to be Very Serious about everything. Sometimes it’s nice, sometimes it just makes you want to check your watch.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It’s more like a curious object you find in an attic. You pick it up, you look at it for a while, and you appreciate the craft. Then you put it back down because you aren't sure what it’s actually for. 🏮

The middle section drags. Honestly, I think I nodded off for a solid thirty seconds during one of the long gazes across a table. When I woke up, they were still gazing. It was almost impressive.

Still, there’s something about the way it looks. It doesn't look like a real place, which is probably the point. It looks like a memory of a place that never actually existed. That’s enough to keep you watching, even if you stop caring about who gets the girl in the end.