Yoshiwara (1937)
Directed by Max Ophüls

Film Synopsis

It is 1890 and the setting is Yoshiwara, the famous red light district of Tokoyo.  Following the death of her father, who committed suicide on discovering he was bankrupt, a beautiful young woman named Kohana decides to sell herself into prostitution.  Against the wishes of her faithful servant Ysamo, she enters the respectable tea house of Mr Po, where she is trained in the ways of the geisha, under the affectionate tutelage of Mrs Namo.  When a Russian frigate lands in the port, her crew decide to sample the fleshpots of the city.  Lieutenant Serge Polenoff has no interest in brothels, but he is drawn to the place where Kohana works after he has seen a portrait of her.  He manages to buy Kohana from Mr Po, just as Ysamo makes a rival bid with stolen money.  Serge's plans to take Kohana back with him to St Petersburg are frustrated when Ysamo betrays him to the country's counter-espionage service.  Kohana is arrested as a spy and condemned to death...