The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

About The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

In late 19th-century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that the praise he receives is only due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love.

Kenji Mizoguchi's The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum is a 1939 romance film. Its themes are forbidden love, dedication, adopted son, and meiji period.

Shōtarō Hanayagi appears as Kikunosuke Onoue, Kakuko Mori as Otoku, Kōkichi Takada as Fukusuke Nakamura, and Kinnosuke Takamatsu as Matsusuke Onoue. Released in October 1939, it runs 144 minutes.

The screenplay is by Matsutarō Kawaguchi and Yoshikata Yoda. The film began as a novel. It streams on Criterion Channel in the United States.

There Will Be Blood, Jamaica Inn, and The Revenant make useful companions to The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, all filed under 19th century and black and white. TMDB voters put it at 7.8 out of 10 across 133 votes.