Love Under the Crucifix

Kinuyo Tanaka's 1962 Japanese film is set in the sixteenth century. Ogin, the daughter of a tea master, falls in love with a married lord who shares her Christian faith, and the authorities soon ban the religion. The subject is the absence of choice. Who Ogin may attach herself to is decided by her father and by power; the narrative shows that coercion not through large scenes but inside ceremonies and codes of conduct. Tanaka was among the best known actors in Japanese cinema and directed a small number of films; this was the last. The images and sets are meticulous and the tea ceremony scenes sit inside the narrative. The close is hard. Who it's for: those who follow classic Japanese cinema and the work of women directors. Who it's not for: viewers expecting pace; the film proceeds slowly and ceremonially.