Appassionata

Overview

This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga ("picture of a beautiful woman") that Uemura painted at the age of 61. The main character, Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Tsuya, who loves painting more than anything and is hopeless at housework, attends art school and at age 15 receives the name Shōsui (from the characters for "pine" and "green") from her teacher. The crown prince of England purchases one of her works, propelling her to fame overnight. The novel portrays the remainder of her stormy life, during which she is impregnated by her teacher and raises a fatherless child; through it all she devotes herself to her painting, undaunted.

Details

Status

Released

Release date

January 14, 1984

Original language

Japanese

Spoken languages

Japanese

Countries

Japan

Production

Toei Company

Cast

Yoshiro Ichikawa,Kojin Tokuda,Yoshihiro Igarashi,Kunihiko Mitamura,Yoshiki Yamada,Tankurô,Mikio Narita,Kōjiro Shirakawa,Aki Sawa,Aki Mizusawaand 47 more

Director

Sadao Nakajima

Writer

Hirō Matsuda,Tomiko Miyao

Cinematography

Fujio Morita

Music

Toshirō Mayuzumi

Budget

Not recorded

Revenue

Not recorded

IMDb

tt0359513