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Scandal (1950 film)
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Wikipedia article
is a 1950 film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshir Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Shirley Yamaguchi.
Plot
Ichiro Aoye (Toshir Mifune), an artist, meets a famous young classical singer, Miyako Saijo (Shirley Yamaguchi) while he is working on a painting in the mountains. She is on foot, having missed her bus, but they discover they are staying at the same hotel, so Aoye gives Saijo a ride back to town on his motorcycle. On the way, they are spotted by paparazzi from the tabloid magazine 'Amour'. Saijo refuses to grant the photographers an interview, so they plot their revenge and are able to take a picture of Aoye and Saijo on the balcony of her room and print it along with a fabricated story under the headline "The Love Story of Miyako Saijo".
Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine. During the subsequent media circus, he is approached by a down-and-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's anger with the press. Aoye hires Hiruta as his attorney, but Hiruta is desperate for money to care for his daughter, Masako (Yko Katsuragi), who has a terminal case of tuberculosis, so he accepts a bribe from the editor of 'Amour' in exchange for agreeing to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs and Hiruta, struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards Masako and Masako's disgust at the way he is handling the case, becomes ridden with guilt. Masako dies near the end of the trial, convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win, since they have the truth on their side. On the final day in court Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses to taking the bribe and 'Amour' loses the case.
Cast
* Toshiro Mifune - Ichir Aoye
* Takashi Shimura - Attorney Hiruta
* Yoshiko Yamaguchi - Miyako Saijo
* Noriko Sengoku - Sumie
* Yko Katsuragi - Masako Hiruta
* Eitaro Ozawa - Hori
* Shinichi Himori - Editor Asai
* Ichiro Shimizu - Arai
* Fumiko Okamura - Miyako's mother
* Masao Shimizu - Judge
* Kokuten Kd - Old Man
* Bokuzen Hidari - Drunk
* Kji Mitsui - Photographer
Commentary
'Scandal' was described by Kurosawa himself as a protest film about "the rise of the press in Japan and its habitual confusion of freedom with license. Personal privacy is never respected and the scandal sheets are the worst offenders." The movie depicts aspects of so-called 'kasutori' culture, a phenomenon of early postwar Japan that refers to the proliferation of sleazy magazines and cheap alcohol.
References
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