Oyuki the Virigin (1935)

I recently read Maupassant’s “Boule de suif” and thought, “Surely this has been made into a movie.” I was surprised to discover Mizoguchi had directed such an adaptation, and furthermore that adaptation is Oyuki the Virgin, a film I have been meaning to watch.

Of all the changes the film makes to the original story, the most dramatic and most bizarre is the decision to focus on the relationship between Oyuki (the whore) and the officer who demands her services. In Maupassant’s story, the thematic thrust details the cowardice, hypocrisy, vanity, pettiness, &c. of the various fleeing passengers, but here that serves as a starting point for the melodramatic romance between whore and fallen commander. I suppose this change is fit for Mizoguchi, but I find it much less interesting.

This is not to say that I disliked the film, but it reminded why I am not a fan of Mizoguchi’s work.