Forever a Woman

Kinuyo Tanaka's 1955 Japanese film rests on the life of the poet Fumiko Nakajō. Fumiko is the mother of two; her husband is unfaithful and the marriage is falling apart. In the same period her tanka begin to be published and she becomes known in literary circles, after which she is diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoes surgery. The film does not turn the illness into a story of sacrifice; it looks at her body, her desire and what she feels as she approaches death with a frankness unusual for its time. Her relationship with a young journalist she meets during the hospital section is where that frankness is clearest. Tanaka was among the first women to direct features in Japan and went behind the camera at the height of her acting career. The telling is measured and free of emotional exploitation. Who it's for: viewers curious about classical Japanese cinema and the work of women directors. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach cancer and death.