Yoshiwara is a 1937 French historical drama film directed by Max Ophüls and starring Pierre Richard-Willm, Sessue Hayakawa and Michiko Tanaka. It is based on a novel of the same title by Maurice Dekobra. It was shot at the Joinville Studios of Pathé in Paris and on location at the Musée Albert-Kahn in Billancourt and in Rochefort-en-Yvelines and Villefranche-sur-Mer. The film's sets were designed by the art directors André Barsacq and Léon Barsacq.
Synopsis The film is set in the Yoshiwara, the red-light district of Tokyo, in the nineteenth century. It depicts a love triangle between a high-class prostitute, a Russian naval officer and a rickshaw puller.
Reception The film was Ophüls' greatest pre-war French financial success. Yoshiwara proved controversial in Japan where the government objected to the depiction of Japanese brothels and banned it. The two Japanese actors who had starred in the film faced a negative reaction, and were labelled as traitors.
Cast Pierre Richard-Willm as Lieutenant Serge Polenoff Sessue Hayakawa as Ysamo, Kuli Michiko Tanaka as Kohana Roland Toutain as Pawlik Lucienne Le Marchand as Namo André Gabriello as Pô Camille Bert as Le commandant Foun-Sen as Geisha Philippe Richard as L'attaché russe Ky Duyen as L'agent secret Georges Saillard as Le médecin
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