Details and tickets purchase information: 
https://harvardfilmarchive.org/calendar/a-womans-sorrows-2025-07
Harvard students admitted free to regularly priced shows.

Directed by Naruse Mikio.
With Irie Takako, Saeki Hideo, Okawa Heihachiro
Japan, 1937, 35mm, b/w, 74 min. 
Japanese with English subtitles

"Anyway, since I cannot get married to someone I love, anyone will do.” The “someone” Hiroko speaks of might be her cousin Ryosuke with whom she shares a close friendship. Instead, upon her arranged marriage to a wealthy man, she glides into a life of servitude within his family’s lively home, aided by her many skills, low self-esteem and congenial nature. As with many Naruse heroines, Hiroko eventually discovers her limits and does not let oppression cloud her goodness. When her sister-in-law’s fiancé turns to drastic measures to save his relationship, Hiroko takes a bold stance—even defying her husband—to fight for a love that seems true. Naruse boldly posits the inequalities of marriage and gender roles through Hiroko’s plight, contrasting her arduous marriage with both the playful ignorance of adolescents and the younger couple’s dramatic romance. Just as Hiroko’s choice seems clear, Naruse adds an unexpected twist in the form of a feminist clarion call, freeing her narrative from patriarchal limitations. – Brittany Gravely
 

Harvard Film Archive special film series FLOATING CLOUDS… THE CINEMA OF NARUSE MIKIO co-sponsored by the Reischauer Institute