The Cinema of Gosho Heinosuke: Laughter Through Tears

"The elegant, graceful, and deeply humanistic cinema of Gosho Heinosuke has found its perfect English-language explication in this equally elegant, graceful, and humanistic study by Arthur Nolletti. A director of wide-ranging interests, Gosho was at his strongest in stories of ordinary Japanese life. Like Mizoguchi he had a particular strength and sensitivity to women's issues; like Ozu he was a delicate yet piercing commentator on middle-class life. But he had a voice and style of his own, and Nolletti is careful to define and describe this sensibility in telling detail." —David Desser

Through close readings of the most significant films of Gosho Heinosuke and descriptions of their historical, social, and industrial contexts, Arthur Nolletti illuminates the work of this important director. The careful attention Gosho gave to even the smallest gestures and nuances of character and emotion is matched by the breadth of Nolletti's research and the depth of his understanding. His analysis illustrates the important influence of Gosho's unique style and sensibility on cinematic form in Japan and beyond.