Jo no mai (1984)

Based on a novel by Tomiko Miyao, Sadao Nakajima’s lush Japanese drama Jo no mai (1984) nabbed a Japanese Academy Award for Art Direction upon its release. Shot in gauzy soft focus, the film explores themes of attraction, jealousy, and transgression within the context of historically conservative Japan, where much is suggested and little is shown. Nakajima breaks with the norm, however, by coaxing Yûko Natori, his leading lady, into revealing the goods inside the kimono.