Yoshiwara enjo (Tokyo Bordello) (1987)

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In their unremitting worldwide quest to ensure that puritan values are observed wherever they have influence, the Americans occupying Japan outlawed the famous Yoshiwara District in Tokyo, where prostitution had been legal for many hundreds of years. However, long before that international disaster,… More In their unremitting worldwide quest to ensure that puritan values are observed wherever they have influence, the Americans occupying Japan outlawed the famous Yoshiwara District in Tokyo, where prostitution had been legal for many hundreds of years. However, long before that international disaster, a fire destroyed most of the district in 1911. This lavishly produced film explores the career of a young girl who was sold into prostitution in 1908 up to the time of the fire in 1911. In the story of this historical drama, which is punctuated by a few softcore sex scenes, the girl goes through many emotional ups and downs, as do the other prostitutes. The customs of that closed society are re-created in loving detail, and the girl is shown choosing her honorable calling over the option of marriage as the film ends. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi