Tanaka’s first film in both colour and Cinemascope is an epic about a woman caught in the torrents of history. Based on the memoirs of Hiro Saga, The Wandering Princess depicts the story of Ryuko (Machiko Kyo), an aristocrat who, at the outset of World War II, is forced to marry Futetsu (Eiji Funakoshi), the younger brother of the soon-to-be disposed Chinese emperor. Ryuko’s entanglement in the Japanese occupation of Manchuria realises with startling depth Tanaka’s ambition to relate a historical saga from a critical female perspective.

Screening as part of the Films of Kinuyo Tanaka season, March 4th – 19th.