Dancing Girl (1957)

-Written by Kyle Bain. 

When Hanae’s (Chikage Awashima) scintillating younger sister, Chiyomi (Machiko Kyô), shows up at her house and begins staying with Hanae and her husband Yamano (Eiji Funakoshi)–her immaturity and promiscuous ways breed trouble for this small family. Chiyomi is a Dancing Girl, one that receives an abundance of attention–and she’s unsure of how to appropriately handle it. 

Dancing Girl is an interestingly risque film that treads the line between what is and isn’t acceptable on screen. Remember that this is 1957; the world was a vastly different place–and Writers Kafú Nagai and Sumie Tanaka, along with Director Hiroshi Shimizu play with the sexuality of a young woman to help propel the film forward. What’s impressive about Dancing Girl is the fact that Shimizu never has to show viewers the sexual activity of any of the characters–by way of his directing and the cinematography of Director of Photography Tomohiro Akino viewers are able to read between the lines and understand the intricacies of this story. 

Nagai and Tanaka develop a narrative that is simple enough on the surface but far more complex the more one analyzes everything that takes place. Seeds are planted in the opening minutes of the film, foreshadowing the great twists and turns that will eventually play out–and I constantly found myself recalling information from earlier in the film, later understanding the profundity and gravity of its purpose. Dancing Girl becomes more and more intense as it progresses, and the more information that we receive, the more we relate to the characters, the story, and the film as a whole. 

Akino does an expert job of capturing Chiyomi in a way that allows her to appear sexualized but not in a way that makes viewers uncomfortable. We are meant to see what other characters in Dancing Girl would have, and we feel connected to her through the cinematography. Chiyomi is often toward the front of the screen, but when she isn’t she is still prominently featured within the frame. She’s the most prominent character in the film, the one that effectively propels Dancing Girl forward–and it’s ultimately Akino that is tasked with ensuring that she is effective in this role. He allows her to retain prominence throughout the course of the film, and with that, Akino may be the most integral part of the entire film. 

Sex exists in nearly every fiber of Dancing Girl, even if it’s not something that takes center stage or something that is seen playing out before us on screen. This team is tactful in their approach toward creating something that could have easily overstepped the boundaries of 1950’s filmmaking, and as Dancing Girl plays out, every bit of sex that oozes from the screen is presented in a way that even the youngest viewers can appreciate. This is true of just about every bit of Dancing Girl, as every piece of this puzzle is approached with tact, grace, and extreme expertise. Like many Japanese films here in the United States, Dancing Girl has flown under the radar for years–but this is a film worth watching. 

Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. 

Written by Kafú Nagai & Sumie Tanaka

Starring Chikage Awashima, Machiko Kyô, Eiji Funakoshi, Haruo Tanaka, Keiko Fujita, etc. 

8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING