A Geisha

"A Geisha" (Gion Bayashi, 1953) is a Japanese drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi with Michiyo Kogure and Ayako Wakao.

Eiko, barely out of adolescence, flees a difficult home and asks Miyoharu — a composed, veteran geisha — to take her on. The rules of Gion are exact: a woman's standing is only as secure as she can hold it. When a pair of well-placed patrons begin pressing both women toward compromises they never agreed to, the two must decide what they are willing to trade away.

Mizoguchi keeps the camera patient and the judgment quiet — no speeches, no editorializing, just people in rooms making choices they'll carry for a long time. Stream "A Geisha" (1953) online on iFILM.