# When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)

> A middle-aged Tokyo bar hostess confronts debt, family demands, and the narrow choices offered by marriage or independent work.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/22947

## Facts

- Runtime: 111 min
- Genres: Drama
- Director: Mikio Naruse
- Cast: Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, Tatsuya Nakadai, Daisuke Katō, Ganjirō Nakamura II, Eitarō Ozawa, Keiko Awaji
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054144/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: melancholic, austere, intimate, quiet evening, classic cinema night

## Synopsis

A poignant exploration of a woman's struggle for independence in a male-dominated world.

## Movies like When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

- [Maborosi (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/11393)
- [Floating Weeds (1959)](https://ember.film/movie/31232)
- [I Was Born, But... (1932)](https://ember.film/movie/17234)
- [Tokyo Story (1953)](https://ember.film/movie/10905)
- [Tokyo Twilight (1957)](https://ember.film/movie/37733)
- [Late Spring (1949)](https://ember.film/movie/12380)
- [Early Summer (1951)](https://ember.film/movie/33914)
- [The Life of Oharu (1952)](https://ember.film/movie/28219)
- [One Wonderful Sunday (1947)](https://ember.film/movie/30462)
- [Black Rain (1989)](https://ember.film/movie/109464)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt