Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

1800s Japan. Artist Hokusai has a successful business producing a variety of images. His daughter after a divorce returns to work in his studio. We watch as she struggles to establish her own stature as an artist while simultaneously acknowledging the mastery of her famous father.

It’s a subtle struggle to portray on film and for the most part this excellent 2017 made for TV movie succeeds beautifully. That much of what we could see portrayed here is based on historical fact (who is not aware of at least one of Hokusai‘s “Mount Fuji” paintings?) adds to the impact of the tale.

An added plus for this film is the historical detail provided in both interior and exterior scenes. Most striking in one scene is where the daughter is taken to a musical performance by the sisters of one of her male friends. Poor as children, all three sisters had became geishas but they also learned and excelled in music and dance. We watch, mesmerized, as they perform while Hokusai‘s daughter observes with her artist’s eye the interplay of light, shadow, and color in the candlelit room.

It’s a magical sequence and one of several where this film succeeds in conveying a sense of the struggle of the artist at work. Highly recommended.

Review copyright (c) 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald

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