Cinemasters: Kinuyo Tanaka
Programmed by and notes by Kristy Matheson. Presented in partnership with Janus Films. This retrospective was conceived by Lili Hinstin.
Contracted as a teen to Shōchiku studios in 1924, Kinuyo Tanaka came of age during the first golden age of Japanese cinema, acting for major directors including Yasujirô Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi. As Japan emerged from the destruction of the Second World War, societal roles for women radically shifted. Tanaka seized this opportunity, moving from superstar actor to directing commercial films.
‘I have never considered acting unsatisfying. But I love cinema and realised I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to become a director. I guess my ambitions came to the surface,’ she said.
Leveraging her experience as an actor working for various directors, and inhabiting multiple personas, Tanaka’s films gracefully shapeshift across genres. Irrespective of their diverse styles, when viewed collectively, these six films offer a unique perspective on a nation grappling with the scars of war, social upheaval, and modernisation, all seen through the lives of its female citizens.
Films in the Season
18-21 September
Girls of the Night (N/C 15+)
25-27 September
Love Under the Crucifix (N/C 15+)
Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, G3 6RB
This section: Cinema
Filed under: Cinema
Related Pages
- Youth Screening: Grey Gardens at GFT
- If Only I Could Hibernate
- Fantastic Machine at GFT
- Bleeding Love at GFT
- Sometimes I Think About Dying at GFT
- Special Screenings to Mark Anniversary Year at Glasgow Film Theatre
- The Lives of Others – 35mm, Special 50 Anniversary Screening GFT
- Cinema Paradiso – Special 50th Anniversary Screening GFT
- Jean de Florette + Manon des Sources (Double-bill) – 50th Anniversary Screening GFT
- Late Night: Escape from New York
- Fellini’s Roma + Introduction
- Take 2: Kids Animations: Why’s the Sky Blue?
- Billy Connolly’s Big Banana Feet at GFT
- At the Volta with James Joyce, GFT
- B Movie.Lust and Sound in West Berlin
- One Night In Millstreet
- The Teacher’s Lounge
- Close Your Eyes
- Ratcatcher – 25th Anniversary
- Silver Haze plus recorded Q & A