Set in 19th Century Japan in a small rural village, the film revolves around an old woman who has just turned 69 as she spends the last year of her life to arrange her affairs for her son and others in her family before she is to be carried towards a mountain where she is to die. It is a film that revolves around an old woman who realizes that she is about to reach an age where she can’t be useful despite the fact that she’s still in good health. Shohei Imamura’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative as it plays more into a family of farmers trying to maintain their livelihood in the course of a year as their matriarch Orin (Sumiko Sakamoto) realizes she’s set to turn 70 in a year as her eldest son Tatsuhei (Ken Ogata) is a widower with three kids including a baby that needs a mother. Her eldest grandson Kesakichi (Seiji Kurasaki) is already having an affair with a young woman in Matsuyan (Junko Takada) who is from a family of suspected thieves while her youngest son Risuke (Tonpei Hidari) is an oddball known for smelling bad and is still a virgin who is desperate to get laid.
The script also plays into the family coping with poverty and bad luck despite the fact that Tatsuhei would get a wife in a woman named Tamayan (Takejo Aki) from another village as they also deal with politics within the village as well as gossip about the woman’s husband who had disappeared and was ignorant towards the tradition at the village about carrying those who turn 70 to be sent to the mountain top where it would be their final resting place. The script also plays into this village with odd traditions in the way they deal with thieves but also what they do to children when they die because they couldn’t feed it as it has some odd traditions with no sense of logic other than being traditional. Yet, there are also odd things such as a recent widow in Oei (Mitsuko Baisho) who would sleep with other men as a prostitute yet refuses to sleep with Risuke. It would all add to this sense of chaos that forces Orin to settle everything with Tatsuhei having to carry her to the mountain.
Imamura’s direction is definitely entrancing for the way he presents the film in this natural setting as the locations are key to the film as they’re shot on the Niigata and Nagano Prefecture regions in Japan with its vast mountains and fields being its centerpiece. Imamura uses a lot of wide and medium shots to play into the locations but also maintain an intimacy as it relates to the characters at their home no matter how small it is as well as close-ups of the characters but also animals. Imamura would often shoot animals to play up this sense of naturalism as well as an environment that is also unforgiving similar to the way villagers are towards those who threaten their livelihood. Shots featuring snakes eating rats or owls eating a mouse are often shown while Imamura also uses some unique tracking shots to play into how vast the landscape is as much of the film’s first two acts take place in the village and areas around it.
The film also plays into some intense sexuality in the way men crave for it as Risuke is someone that is in need of it despite the fact that he never bathes. Some of it goes into near explicit territory as it plays into the sexual politics of the villagers although the women do have some sense of control when it comes to running the household as it would be something Orin would pass upon towards Tamayan before she goes to the mountains. The film’s third act is about the journey Orin and Tatsuhei as well as revelations about Tatsuhei’s father that the latter reveals as he had been the source of all of the bad luck Orin and her family endured. The journey towards the mountain is a treacherous one as Tatsuhei has to carry Orin on his back as there are elements of surrealism, spiritual imagery, and realism that play into this journey with revelations into what Tatsuhei would have to endure when his time is coming. Overall, Imamura crafts an intoxicating yet wondrous film about a woman settling matters before her son takes her to a mountain where she would die.
Cinematographers Hiroshi Kanazawa, Shigeru Komatsubara, and Masao Tochizawa do incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its emphasis on natural lighting for many of its exterior settings including the usage of low-key artificial lighting for a few of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Toshihiko Kojima, Fusako Matsumoto, Hajime Okayasu, Yoshiko Onodera, and Matsahito Watanabe do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward in its rhythmic cuts while using some stylized slow-motion and odd frame-speeds for some of the surreal and haunting moments. Production designer Goro Kusakabe, along with art directors Hisao Inagaki and Tadataka Yoshino plus set decorators Senki Nakamura and Mitsuto Washizawa, does amazing work with the design of the home that Orin and her family live in as well as the village and the look of the mountaintop for the film’s climax in its eerie detail. Costume designer Kyoto Isho does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the robes and such that the men and women wear with some of it being ragged as it plays into the struggle the villagers in their environment.
The special effects work of Yoshio Kojima is terrific for some of the film’s minimal effects work for a few scenes in the mountain as it plays into its mystique and ghost-like atmosphere. The sound work of Kenichi Benitani is brilliant for its sound design in the way nature sounds from their locations as well as the usage of natural sounds on location including some eerie moments that play into the suspense and drama. The film’s music by Shin’ichiro Ikebe is phenomenal for its immense music score filled with low-key string and percussive arrangements along with elements of synthesizers and electric bass to create a mood that adds to the sense of the unknown as it relates to spirits along with natural elements that occur throughout the film as it is a major highlight of the film.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Norihei Miki as an elderly salt dealer that Orin knows who tells him about Tamayan, Akio Yokoyama as a neighbor who is suspected of theft, Sachie Shimura as the neighbor’s wife also suspected of theft, Ryutaro Tatsumi as an old neighbor, Kaoru Shimamori as Tatsuhei’s young son Tomekichi, Shoichi Ozawa as a village elder who is the head of the village, Niijiko Kiyokawa as female villager whom Orin bargains with as it relates to Risuke, and Mitsuko Baisho as a recent widow in Oei who had been frustrated with her husband as she chooses to become a prostitute. Junko Takada is superb as Matsuyan who is in a relationship with Kesakichi as she would become part of his family though Orin feels she is crowding things as she is associated with a family accused of theft. Seiji Kurasaki is fantastic as Tatsuhei’s eldest son Kesakichi as a young man who is in love although he is pondering her role for the family.
Tonpei Hidari is excellent as Tatsuhei’s younger brother Risuke as a virginal villager who smells terribly as he is also desperate to lose his virginity while being this oddball in the community. Takejo Aki is brilliant as Tamayan as a widow that Tatsuhei would marry as she helps the family out while also learning a secret from Orin that would help the family. Sumiko Sakamoto is amazing as Orin as the family matriarch who is about to turn 70 as she decides to settle all of her business before she goes to the mountain as well as deal with gossip and stories about her as there’s a gracefulness to her performance. Finally, there’s Ken Ogata in an incredible performance as Tatsuhei as Orin’s eldest son who is trying to run the family household while also aware of the role he has to play for his mother while also dealing with issues relating to his late father whom he wasn’t fond of as well as the terror of his journey at the mountains.
The Ballad of Narayama is a tremendous film from Shohei Imamura. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, a grounded setting, a study of loss and facing death, evocative sound work, and a rich music score by Shin’ichiro Ikebe. It is a film that explores a family having to let their matriarch go with her eldest son doing a task that is deemed traditional as he is forced to face his own journey. In the end, The Ballad of Narayama is a spectacular film from Shohei Imamura.
Related: The Ballad of Narayama (1958 film)
Shohei Imamura Films: (Stolen Desire) – (Nishi Ginza Station) – (Endless Desire) – (My Second Brother) – (Pigs and Battleship) – (The Insect Woman) – (Unholy Desire) – (The Pornographers) – (A Man Vanishes) – (The Profound Desire of the Gods) – (History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess) – (Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute) – (Vengeance is Mine (1979 film)) – (Eijanaika) – (Zegen) – (Black Rain (1989 film)) – (The Eel) – (Dr. Akagi) – (Warm Water Under a Red Bridge) – 11’09”01-September 11-Japan
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Directed by Paul Schrader and screenplay by Paul and Leonard Schrader that are based on the works of Yukio Mishima, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is the story on the life and work of the Japanese writer through four different segments. The film uses a few of his books as guidelines into his life as Yukio Mishima is portrayed by Ken Ogata who also narrates the film. Also starring Kenji Sawada, Toshiyuki Nagashima, and Yasosuke Bando. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a ravishing and evocative film from Paul Schrader.
Set on the final day in the life of Yukio Mishima on November 25, 1970 as he is traveling to a building with a few of his cadets from his private army, the film revolves the life of a man as he is about to meet a general while he reflects on his life and the events that would shape him and his work as a writer. It’s a film that doesn’t have much plot as it is mainly told through an unconventional narrative that rely on flashbacks and dramatizations of Mishima’s work. The film’s screenplay by Paul and Leonard Schrader with contributions by Chieko Schrader and research by Akiko Hitomi focus on this last day of Mishima’s life and other aspects of his life in flashbacks that are inter-cut with three sections based on Mishima’s books as the four chapters of the film each represent a subject that Mishima would explore throughout his life in beauty, art, action, and harmony of pen and sword.
Beauty is represented through the first segment based on his novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion that follows a young stuttering student enamored by the beauty of this golden temple as he questions his own shortcomings as a person that parallels with Mishima’s own struggles growing up and trying to be a writer. Art is shown in the story Kyoko’s House as it plays into a young man who is trying to help his mother as he would become a lover to this older woman who agreed to wipe his mother’s debt to have him in this strange sadomasochistic relationship that would play into Mishima’s own growth as a writer and struggles with his own homosexuality. Action is presented in the story Runaway Horses that follow a group of fanatical students trying to overthrow its government in favor of a more nationalist view which play into Mishima’s own disdain towards capitalism and trying to create his own platform to help Japan. The fourth chapter that represents harmony of pen and sword is about Mishima’s final day as it play into the event of what he is trying to do as a way to balance his art and his actions in the hopes of a new future for Japan.
Paul Schrader’s direction is definitely stylish in his overall presentation of the film where he definitely aims for different tones for not just the sections of the films but also in the flashbacks. Shot partially in Tokyo for some scenes set during Mishima’s final day with some shots in Kyoto for the flashbacks, Schrader would also use soundstages to shoot dramatic interpretations of Mishima’s work. The three chapters that dramatize Mishima’s work has this air of artificiality in its look but also a theatricality to the intimacy of the setting. The three sections would all have different color palettes in its visuals and tone while the flashbacks are shot in black-and-white. Schrader’s compositions do play into the world that Mishima has created but also this disconnect from aspects of reality as he is trying to present himself as something bigger. The usage of the wide and medium shots play into the world that Mishima and his characters are in as well as some unique camera angles for some of the scenes that his own protagonists endure that parallel to Mishima’s own journey in his flashbacks.
Schrader would use close-ups for some scenes as it play into some of the dramatic plight that the characters from Mishima’s stories would face. Even as the fate of these characters would mirror Mishima’s own downfall in his own attempts to rid some of the modernity of post-war Japan. There is a beauty into Schrader’s direction where some of the visuals play into Mishima’s own idea of Japan at its most pure but it also play into this disconnect he has with Japan in 1970. The film’s climax that is set on his final day is about the dramatic state of what he’s trying to accomplish with his cadets but the collision he has with reality and modern Japan would force him to come to terms with this reality. Even as he would want to retain a sense of dignity amidst the ideas of a world he has no connection with. Overall, Schrader crafts an intoxicating and riveting film about the life of an author told through his works and on his final day in life.
Cinematographer John Bailey does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of black-and-white for the flashback scenes, a straightforward look for Mishima’s final day, and array of colors and lighting for dramatic sections of his work as it is a highlight of the film. Editors Michael Chandler and Tomoyo Oshima do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the intense dramatic moments of the film. Production/costume designer Eiko Ishioka, with set decorator Kyoji Sasaki plus art director Kazuo Takenaka and co-costume designer Etsuko Yagyu, is incredible for its intricate attention to detail in the sets of the dramatic fantasy scenes as well as the usage of colors to play into its look as well as the costumes in those sequences including Mishima’s robe in the film’s opening scene.
Sound designer Leslie Shatz does fantastic work with the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the locations that Mishima is in as well as the mixing of sounds in the dramatic fantasy sections of the film. The film’s music by Philip Glass does amazing work with the film’s music score with its rich and shimmering usage of strings with its arrangements adding to the drama as it is a major highlight of the film.
The film’s terrific ensemble cast feature notable small roles from Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda, Shigeto Tachihara as three of Mishima’s cadets from his private army and Junkichi Orimoto as General Mashita whom Mishima would take hostage for his speech on his final day of his life. For the flashback scenes, the performances of Yuki Nagahara as the five-year old Mishima, Masato Aizawa as the 9-14 year old Mishima, Go Riju as the 18-19 year old Mishima, Kyuzo Kobayashi and Yuki Kitazaume as a couple Mishima’s friends, Haruko Kato as Mishima’s grandmother, and Naoko Otani as Mishima’s mother are superb in the way they play into Mishima’s development as a man. From The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, the fantastic performances of Naomi Oki and Miki Takahara as a couple of girls Mariko try to flirt with, Imari Tsuji as a brothel madame, Chishu Ryu as a priest, and Hisako Manda as Mizoguchi’s friend Mariko. From Kyoko’s House, the excellent performances of Setsuko Karasuma as Osamu’s mother, Tadanori Yokoo and Yasuaki Kurata as friends of Osamu, and Mitsuru Hirata as a thug.
From Runaway Horses, the brilliant performances of Naoya Makoto as a kendo instructor, Jun Negami as a target of the students, and Ryo Ikebe as an interrogator. Yasosuke Bando is amazing as the stuttering Mizoguchi as a young student enamored with the beauty of the golden pavilion as it play into his love of Japan’s nationalist identity while Toshiyuki Nagashima is marvelous as the student Isao who wants to start a revolution against the growing capitalism of Japan. The performances of Kenji Sawada and Reisen Lee in their respective roles as Osamu and the crime figure Kiyomi are remarkable with Osamu as a man who represents masculinity and Kiyomi as a woman who buys Osamu for her own sadomasochistic pleasure. Masayuki Shionoya is incredible as Mishima’s aide Morita who would assist Mishima in his duties as well as the events of Mishima’s final day. Finally, there’s Ken Ogata in a phenomenal performance as Yukio Mishima as the celebrated author, playwright, and artist who would endure a lot of roles while coping with the journey he has in wanting to make changes for Japan and restore some of its old identity in a new world only to become more disconnected with what the world had become.
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a magnificent film from Paul Schrader. Featuring Ken Ogata’s riveting performance as well as Eiko Ishioka’s tremendous art direction, John Bailey’s gorgeous cinematography, an inventive script, and Philip Glass’ eerie music score. The film is truly an unconventional yet entrancing bio-pic that explore a man’s life and work as well as his own flaws that would lead to the last day of his life. In the end, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is an outstanding film from Paul Schrader.
Paul Schrader Films: Blue Collar - Hardcore – American Gigolo - Cat People (1982 film) - (Light of Day) – (Patty Hearst) – (The Comfort of Strangers) – (Light Sleeper) – (Witch Hunt) – (Touch) – Affliction - (Forever Mine) – (Auto Focus) – (Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist) – (The Walker) – (Adam Resurrected) – (The Canyons) – Dying of the Light - (Dog Eat Dog) – First Reformed - (The Card Counter)
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