A pivotal work in Mizoguchi's career and a critical hit in Paris recently,The Downfall of Osen bridged the silent and sound periods. (The voice-over wasrecorded by a benshi, the traditional narrator of Japanese silent films.) Stillremarkable for its narrative structure, which unfolds largely in flashback, ittells a quintessentially Mizoguchi tale of a woman (played by Isuzu Yamada) whosacrifices everything, including her body and her sanity, so that the man sheloves can achieve success. "The Downfall of Osen is the most dramaticexample of this persistent theme in Mizoguchi's work, one which film critic TadaoSato attributes to the director's guilt feelings about the sacrifices his ownmother and sister made for him." (David Owens)