Under the Sun (1989)
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Kim Longinotto — Director
Episodes 2
Dream Girls
The Takarazuka Revue is a highly successful musical theatre troupe in which all the actors are women. If they want to get married, they have to resign. The compensation is stardom and they are envied by millions of women across Japan. On stage they conjure up an impossibly romantic and glamorous world far removed from the narrow confines of housewives' and office-girls' lives. (a Twentieth-Century Vixen production for BBCtv)
Read MoreShinjuku Boys
Gaish is an elegant Japanese playboy with lots of girlfriends who meet him at the Club Marilyn in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Gaish is a so-called "onnabe", one of a group of cross-dressing ladies who provide comfort for lonely women. The female clients know that onnabes are not supposed to enter into serious relationships, but that doesn't stop onnabes trying.
Read MoreGaea Girls (Japanese Fighting Women)
As young women in Japan find it harder to get jobs, some are taking a chance on professional wrestling. Companies like Gaea rear young wrestling hopefuls. The girls endure a grueling one-year initiation involving severe physical training and hardship. Follow the extraordinary transformation of young Japanese females from timid youngsters into confident fighting machines.
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