🌶 Certified Scorching1960 • Drama • 111m

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

"The tree sprouts no matter how strong the wind blows."

80

CINESCORE

SCORCHING

127 critic reviews

81%

POPCORN METER

HOTLY LOVED

Verified ratings

Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.