Double Suicide (1969)

Racking up Best Picture and Best Actress awards in the Japanese equivalent of the Oscars, this acclaimed drama from director Masahiro Shinoda tells the story of a tragic love affair between a married merchant (Kichiemon Nakamura) and a prostitute (Shima Iwashita). Based on an 18th-century Bunraku puppet play, the film follows the increasingly desperate lovers as they enter into a suicide pact when society offers them no hope for happiness.