Back to browse
80% Critic Match
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
“The tree sprouts no matter how strong the wind blows.”
8.0 / 10• 1960• 1h 51m•NR• Japanese
Drama
Storyline
Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.
Cast & Crew
Hideko Takamine
Keiko Yashiro
Lead
Masayuki Mori
Nobuhiko Fujisaki
Reiko Dan
Junko Inchihashi
Tatsuya Nakadai
Kenichi Komatsu
Daisuke Katō
Matsukichi Sekine
Ganjirō Nakamura II
Goda
Eitarō Ozawa
Minobe
Keiko Awaji
Yuri
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Mikio Naruse's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
4.0
“Every frame feels alive. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
