Dragnet Girl(Hijosen no onna)

Permeated with Ozu’s references to American cinema, this silent gangster film strikes with its chiaroscuro compositions, distinctive camera movement and rhythmic editing choices rarely seen in his habitual terrain. Veering from the domestic to the netherworld, it plots out a high-stakes love triangle: a yakuza provokes the jealousy of his moll when he falls for the innocent sister of a new recruit. Powered by the effortlessly cool performance by Tanaka Kinuyo as a delinquent, this visually inventive drama gestures towards humanism and traditional values that would become his signature.

Live music accompaniment by Olivier Cong