Street of Shame
Five women working in a Tokyo brothel confront poverty, family obligations, romantic promises, and a political campaign that threatens their already precarious lives.
Overview
In the heart of Tokyo's Yoshiwara district, five women navigate the complexities of life as they work in a brothel.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- intimate
- bleak
- classic cinema night
- japanese film retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, compassionate, and unsparing portrait of women trapped by poverty and institutionalized prostitution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film follows five prostitutes at Dreamland, contrasting Hanae, Yumeko, Yorie, Yasumi, and Mickey's distinct motives and circumstances.
The women's labor, debt, family responsibilities, and vulnerability are shaped by the brothel economy and the proposed prostitution ban.
The story depicts poverty, unemployment, debt, fractured families, and precarious survival in postwar Tokyo.
Dreamland's rooms and daily operations function as the recurring social environment through which the women's personal dramas unfold.
Films like Street of Shame, and why
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
shared postwar social realism, institutional critique, and compassionate focus on women constrained by poverty
The Life of Oharu
shared Japanese melodrama, female-centered ensemble structure, and critique of patriarchal social conditions
Girls of the Night
shared postwar Japanese setting, prostitution theme, and bleak social realism centered on marginalized women
Movie Details
- Director
- Kenji Mizoguchi
- Release Date
- 1956-03-18
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (159)
Cast
- Machiko Kyō
- Ayako Wakao
- Michiyo Kogure
- Aiko Mimasu
- Kenji Sugawara
- Yasuko Kawakami
- Eitarō Shindō
- Bontarō Miake
- Haruo Tanaka
- Sadako Sawamura
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Street of Shame about?
- Five women working in a Tokyo brothel confront poverty, family obligations, romantic promises, and a political campaign that threatens their already precarious lives.
- What is Street of Shame like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Street of Shame as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Street of Shame violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Street of Shame.
- What did critics think of Street of Shame?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, compassionate, and unsparing portrait of women trapped by poverty and institutionalized prostitution.
- Which films are like Street of Shame?
- Films with a similar feel include When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, The Life of Oharu, and Girls of the Night.
- How long is Street of Shame?
- Street of Shame runs 87 minutes.
- Where can I watch Street of Shame?
- In United States, Street of Shame streams on Criterion Channel.
