Director lamented the selfless suffering of beautiful women

Kenji Mizoguchi made more than 80 films, many of which rank among the finest in Japanese cinema history. By the end of his career, he was spoken of in the same breath as the great Yasujiro Ozu and Akira Kurosawa. But what set Mizoguchi apart from those two directors was his subject matter - he dealt almost exclusively with women.

'Women, women, women,' says Law Waiming, curator at the Hong Kong Film Archive, which is screening a series of his works. 'Women are the main characters of almost all Kenji's movies. His movies centre on the life attitudes of women, many of whom are quite strong in character.'

The archive is showcasing nine of Mizoguchi's best movies until December 18, including masterpieces such as Osaka Elegy, The Life of Oharu, Sansho the Bailiff and Ugetsu.

'Kenji's films are feasts of beautiful camera movement capturing the suffering of beautiful women,' says Law. 'I strongly recommend people watch Sansho the Bailiff. It goes deep into human values. Usually he has a prostitute or geisha as the heroine of his movies. She is abused by men or even unwanted by her family.'

Mizoguchi said in an interview in 1952 that 'women have always been treated like slaves'. It's a view that can be probably explained by events he witnessed in his childhood. Born in 1898 in Tokyo, two drastic events occurred when Mizoguchi was seven years old that helped shape his life. First, his family moved from a middle-class district to a poor area, after his father's business failed. Then, his 14-year-old sister, Suzu, was adopted and finally sold to a geisha house.

Suzu's sacrifices financially helped Mizoguchi receive some art education and start his career as a director, which would span 34 years.

When he was 27, Mizoguchi embarked on a love affair with a prostitute. It ended when she stabbed him in the back - and then disappeared. Law gives another possible reason that interest in female psychology is a consistent feature of Mizoguchi's movies. 'I think he's apologising to all the women in the world by way of films,' says Law. 'I think in many ways he feels guilty.'