西鶴一代女; film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. There are a number of beautiful, subdued, and elegantly-paced scenes in this film about the misfortunes of a woman living during the Edo period. Mizoguchi uses his signature style, featuring many long takes, to effectively convey a socially-conscious message.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_Oharu

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045112/