A student at a woman's university takes a controversial action against the school's old-fashioned doctrines.A student at a woman's university takes a controversial action against the school's old-fashioned doctrines.A student at a woman's university takes a controversial action against the school's old-fashioned doctrines.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 1 nomination
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe director of this film, Keisuke Kinoshita, was regarded by both critics and the public as being engaged in an ongoing professional rivalry with his good friend Akira Kurosawa, because, among other reasons, both filmmakers had directed their debut films in the same year, 1943. (It was Kinoshita who won the Best New Director prize for that year.) In the Best Ten critics poll held by the cinema magazine Kinema Junpo for films released in 1954, this film placed second, beating Kurosawa's most ambitious film up to that time, Seven Samurai (1954), which placed third. In addition, the film that topped the poll that year was another Kinoshita work, the classic Twenty-Four Eyes (1954). (Kinoshita died in 1998, the same year as Kurosawa.)
- Quotes
Tomiko Takioka: I have the right to reject what I dislike. You made it hard for me to go home. What did I do wrong? I'm no longer a child!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Century of Cinema: Nihon eiga no hyaku nen (1995)
Featured review
So-so melodrama about an oppressive women's college
The Garden of Women is a social commentary on the changing status of women in Japan during the days after World War II. The setting is a women's boarding college in Kyoto where rich families send their daughters. The goal of the school, however, is not so much to provide an education as it is to produce potential brides. In order to produce these results (and to protect the school's reputation) the administrators bury the students with rules and regulations, while also prying into every aspect of their private lives. The end result is that the place feels more like a prison to the students than a school. A number of students decide to fight for their rights, which of course leads to conflict with the school's administrators.
It's hard to complain about a movie with such lofty goals. I imagine there really were schools like this in Japan at the time, and efforts by young women to be seen as equals is of course laudable. Unfortunately, propaganda and social commentary aren't enough to make a good movie, and the end result here is not overly interesting. The storyline is never particularly compelling, the tone is rather strident and the movie is overlong. Even the great Hideko Takamine cannot save it, as she is given little to do other than look sad and break down crying (which she does a lot.) Overall, it might have some historical value to some people, but it is probably too histrionic and dated for most viewers today.
It's hard to complain about a movie with such lofty goals. I imagine there really were schools like this in Japan at the time, and efforts by young women to be seen as equals is of course laudable. Unfortunately, propaganda and social commentary aren't enough to make a good movie, and the end result here is not overly interesting. The storyline is never particularly compelling, the tone is rather strident and the movie is overlong. Even the great Hideko Takamine cannot save it, as she is given little to do other than look sad and break down crying (which she does a lot.) Overall, it might have some historical value to some people, but it is probably too histrionic and dated for most viewers today.
helpful•55
- pscamp01
- Jan 22, 2014
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Devojački bunt
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 21 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content