Street of Shame

A stark and tortured portrait of Tokyo's historical red-light district after the occupation, the Japanese film Street of Shame, reaches toward the superb level of its predecessor Rashomon. Dealing with the highly controversial issue of legalized prostitution, it does not bypass cliches ("Does an unnecessary business last so long?"), nor does it resist the opportunity to moralize. Nevertheless cliches and moralizing inherently attach themselves to the problem, which Street of Shame approaches warily and with artistic detachment.

The plot entangles the private and professional lives of seven women working at a place called Dreamland. Among them are Mickey, a gum-chewing spend-thrift running away from a sordid home, Yasumi, a loan shark who finally claws her way out of the business, and Yori, a weakling who despises prostitution but cannot stay away. Against a background of neon lights and haunting music, these women suffer, cheat, show flashes of compassion, and dream about escape. One who originally sold herself to support her son goes insane when the son renounces her. Another drives her tubercular husband to suicide by working at Dreamland to save him. And throughout the theme repeats itself: innocent girl must enter, hardened woman must stay, old prostitute must leave.

Running the business are a respectable-looking couple fond of saying, "The Diet puts forth a law which claims to protect you girls, but they lie. It's we owners who are really protecting you. Without us you would starve. We're social workers. So work hard. And please don't become too haggard. You're for sale."

But one of the girls poses the significant question. While consoling her husband, she asks, "We will be glad we did not commit suicide, will we not?" The film apparently gives no answer. For it ends where it began: on the street under neon lights.

Featured along with Street of Shame are a conventionally violent cartoon and a Henry Fonda-narrated short about Grant Wood.