Special Series

Free

Only On Mondays

月曜日のユカ

Directed by: Kō Nakahira 
1964 / 93 minutes / Unclassified 15+

“…to love is to give your best; to give your best is to make a man happy”

Eighteen, bright and beautiful, Yuka’s life is funded by her sugar daddy and entertained by her younger lover Osamu. She sees her sole purpose in life to be at the dedicated servitude of men. Is this pure girlish naivety, or a culturally skewed concept thriving in the unstable post-war years? With Yokohama serving as a lively backdrop, this film portrays the role of one of Japan’s most significant international trade ports in serving as an influx point for westernisation and the growing threat of capitalism. 

Presenting the coquettish Yuka as a fascinating anti-heroine, Only On Mondays plays a remarkable game of gender interrogations and is one of Nakahira’s few films to be known internationally – perhaps due to its liberal themes and stunningly fluid aesthetic. Playing off the French directors Nakahira had initially influenced with Juvenile Jungle, Yuka’s emotional yet tireless spirit reminisces the likes of the deceptively innocent screen presence of Anna Karina. Saturated with New Wave style, Only On Mondays is a startling portrait of a sexually assertive woman roughing a rapidly changing socio-political climate.