During the Russian Civil War, Grigori Sajapin is an opera singer in a name-disguised Harbin. He has an adopted daughter, Shirley Yamaguchi. Her real father has been looking for her.... but she knows no father save Sajapan. Because of the association of opera with the old Russia, Sajapin goes through some hard times, but Miss Yamaguchi won't even think of leaving him, despite emissaries from her father who make the offer to bring her to him.
It' hard to follow this story, which seems to be directed half in Russian by Yasujirô Shimazu. If there's any subtext to it except for the natural loyalty of the Japanese people, it's beyond me to figure out. It looks like it was meant to show off Russian settings, particularly Orthodox churches, which places the location shooting on Sakhalin. There's also some good opera singing, but it doesn't hang together particularly well.
It' hard to follow this story, which seems to be directed half in Russian by Yasujirô Shimazu. If there's any subtext to it except for the natural loyalty of the Japanese people, it's beyond me to figure out. It looks like it was meant to show off Russian settings, particularly Orthodox churches, which places the location shooting on Sakhalin. There's also some good opera singing, but it doesn't hang together particularly well.
