When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)

Mikio Naruse · 111 min · Letterboxd ↗

Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs screens once in London: Prince Charles Cinema, Tuesday 19 January at 18:15.