Live stream preview

Watch this video and more on The Criterion Channel

Watch this video and more on The Criterion Channel

Start your free trial

Already subscribed? Sign in

Directed by Mikio Naruse

Flowing

1h 56m

Directed by Mikio Naruse • 1956 • Japan
Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine

One of director Mikio Naruse’s most sublime achievements traces the fortunes of a geisha house struggling to survive in the face of a changing society. As seen through the eyes of the establishment’s new maid (Kinuyo Tanaka), FLOWING centers on the attempts of the brothel’s mistress (Isuzu Yamada) to save her house from obsolescence, even as her daughter (Hideko Takamine) wishes for a different life. A superlative showcase for three of Japan’s greatest actresses, this masterpiece from Naruse’s richest period is an exquisite evocation of a lost world passing into the realm of history.

Up Next in Directed by Mikio Naruse

  • Yearning
    1:38:30
    Yearning

    Yearning

    Directed by Mikio Naruse • 1964 • Japan
    Starring Hideko Takamine, Yuzo Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue

    One of Mikio Naruse’s supreme achievements, this transcendent melodrama weaves a heartrending story of an extended family tragedy growing out of the Second World War. The great Hideko Takamine stars as...

  • Scattered Clouds
    1:48:18
    Scattered Clouds

    Scattered Clouds

    Directed by Mikio Naruse • 1967 • Japan
    Starring Yoko Tsukasa, Yuzo Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue

    Melodrama master Mikio Naruse’s final film is one of his most majestically melancholy works, a haunting romantic tragedy about two lost souls drawn together into a seemingly impossible relationship. After...

×