https://fictionmachine.com/2019/06/02/review-a-ball-at-the-anjo-house-1947/ Deconstructing the machinery of cinema. Tue, 07 Sep 2021 01:23:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ https://fictionmachine.com/2019/06/02/review-a-ball-at-the-anjo-house-1947/comment-page-1/#comment-13617 Tue, 07 Sep 2021 01:23:08 +0000 http://fictionmachine.com/?p=3854#comment-13617 I’m an EFL teacher in Japan and our English learners are discussing this story. I’m somewhat overwhelmed by the way Setsuko Hara is made the heroine of each of the 5 branches of the story. Ball at the Anjo House seems it was only written for her to get attention; don’t you remember the very last half minute of the film before the credits?. Saying that she is “the only one to hold things together” is an understatement. Im left with the impression that a script, probably inspired by a first-rate novel, was altered/distorted to cash in on her rising popularity. I do agree that the side branches are powerfully portrayed, however Im uncomfortably reminded of a super hero who takes on a succession of tragic situations, 1950s editing style. Hara always appears, with one outstanding exception, Masahiko’s dalliance with, and rejection of Yoko. The film’s knife edge, in mind rests on whether Masahiko makes a tearful resolution to become a better man a la Hollywood style or we are left with some shred of belief in the uncertainty of “real life”. I think the audience of that time fully hoped to see a version of reality similar to the dissolution of Anjo aristocracy. But “unashamed melodrama” is another one of your understatements….lol.

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