Love Under the Crucifix

Like The Wandering Princess, Tanaka’s final film as director employs color and widescreen cinematography to tell the story of a woman whose possibilities for happiness are circumscribed by the vicissitudes of history. Set in the sixteenth century, the film centers on Gin (Ineko Arima), the daughter of a respected Christian tea master. Gin is devoted to a married Christian samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) in an era when Christianity was forbidden in Japan. Fully aware of the consequences, Gin charts her fateful path of resistance against power, patriarchy, and even the limits of her faith, claiming her right to true love.