Untamed

Adapted from a popular Taisho era (1912–26) novel by Shusei Tokuda, Untamed is exceptional among Mikio Naruse’s characterizations of women. Oshima (Hideko Takamine) experiences a series of failed relationships as she works toward financial independence and self-realization. A refreshing departure from the restrained, yearning, and enduring characters Takamine previously played for Naruse, Oshima resists and fights back as much, if not more than, she suffers, sloughing off successive disappointments and betrayals and emerging all the stronger. “Hideko Takamine’s performance . . . is among her most active and energetic and her character is one of the most liberated in Naruse’s oeuvre” (Catherine Russell).