Arakure (Untamed Woman) (1957)

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Originally titled Arakure, Untamed Woman was the sole 1957 entry for prolific Japanese director Mikio Naruse. Like many of Naruse's previous films, this one deals with an unhappy woman's desperate search for domestic bliss. In the course of the film's 121 minutes, the heroine (a) marries, gives… More Originally titled Arakure, Untamed Woman was the sole 1957 entry for prolific Japanese director Mikio Naruse. Like many of Naruse's previous films, this one deals with an unhappy woman's desperate search for domestic bliss. In the course of the film's 121 minutes, the heroine (a) marries, gives birth to a stillborn child, and divorces; (b) falls in love with a hotel-keeper, only to find herself subordinated to his drive for success; and (c) takes up with a tailor who cannot console himself with her strong personality. That Naruse is able to make the audience empathize with a basically unlikable woman and the equally distasteful men in her life is a testament to the director's superior talent. Untamed Woman was one of two Naruse films to earn a U.S. release in the 1950s: the other was Mother (1952). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi