reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (10/15/85)
True experiments with the form of narrative film are very
rare. Even the "difficult" European directors whose films are
avoided by most Americans usually are not really experimenting,
but are working in known, but less popular, forms. Even more
rare than true experiments are successful ones. Most bold at-
tempts are too bold. It generally takes a few tries before the
new ideas really work. What pleases me most about "Mishima: A
Life in Four Chapters" is that its director, Paul Schrader, has
tried something original, and has made it work.
"Mishima" is a biographical film, one of the less likely
areas for experimentation, one might think. Biographical film
has been more or less dominated by the Warner Brothers model from
the 1930s, where Paul Muni dressed up as someone famous and acted
noble. "Gandhi", for instance, works from this model. So does
such a film as "Coal Miner's Daughter". They treat their subject
from a purely narrative point of view, starting at the beginning
and going to the end. (Little touches like the framing assassi-
nation scenes in "Gandhi" really don't change the basic struc-
ture.) This model is so prevelent that many people might wonder
how else one would do a film biography. An examination of the
purposes of biographies reveals otherwise. Yes, sometimes
biographies are meant to tell a story, but many of the best
biographies have the central purpose of illuminating what was im-
portant in the life of their subject, demonstrating why his life
is worthy of note, what can be learned from him, what truths he
embodied. This is the sort of biography Schrader wanted to do,
and he found a form that allowed him to do it.
Yukio Mishima was perhaps the greatest author of post-World
War II Japan. He wrote novels, plays, and short stories in great
numbers. His works were very popular in Japan, and widely
translated. But Mishima's life was not lived totally within his
writings. Mishima believed in the ancient Japanese principle of
the harmony of pen and sword, a creed which calls for a blending
of art and action. Deeply traditional in many ways, Mishima saw
much that he hated in modern Japanese life, and he took action
to change things in a uniquely Japanese way. When combined with
a rather morbid attitude towards life and beauty, and a confused
sexual identity embracing homosexuality and sado-masochism,
Mishima lived a life and died a death that are unlike those of
any others.
Schrader chooses to take an intellectual, almost literary
approach to his subject. The film is divided into four chapters,
"Beauty", "Art", "Action", and "The Harmony of Pen and Sword".
Each chapter consists of intertwined threads of action. The last
day of Mishima's life is presented in realistic color, in se-
quence. Mishima's past is treated, also sequentially, in a na-
turalistic fashion, but shot in black and white. The first three
sections of the film also each contain a condensed version of one
of Mishima's novels, "The Legend of the Golden Pavilion",
"Kyoko's House", and "Runaway Horses". These episodes are filmed
in lush color using stylized sets. Bits and pieces of the three
threads are woven together to make a surprisingly smooth whole, a
thesis on the major motivating forces behind Mishima's life.
I am not familiar enough with the life and works of Mishima
to determine if Schrader's explanation of Mishima is too simple,
or even close to correct. But I do know that Schrader presents a
convincing case. He takes actions which most of us could not
understand and produces an extremely plausible explanation, while
at the same time displaying an interesting and important view of
the relationship between art and life. Schrader directs "Mishi-
ma" with the confidence of a man who knows precisely what he
wants. He directed his other films ("Hardcore", "American Gigo-
lo", "Cat People") this way, too, but in "Mishima" he finally
succeeds in showing the audience what he had in mind, and con-
vincing us that it is a valuable vision. Schrader also colla-
borated on the script with his brother, Leonard, a great admirer
of Japanese culture. The invention that went into the screenplay
provides the base on which Schrader, as director, works, and
demonstrates again that Schrader is one of the great active
screenwriters. At times, Schrader achieves effects of near
breathtaking cinematic beauty, both intellectually and emotional-
ly satisfying. I only hope that "Mishima" is an artistic break-
through for Schrader, and that he has more to show us.
All involved with "Mishima" make exceptional contributions.
Foremost is Ken Ogata, in the role of Mishima. Ogata lives in
the part in a way almost foreign to Hollywood film. While fami-
liar to Japanese audiences, and fans of Japanese cinema, Ogata
isn't well known to most American audiences, which enhances his
disappearance into the role. The supporting cast is also uni-
formly excellent. The acting styles between the biographical
segments and the novel excerpts is rather different, and it is
heartening that both are handled well.
Philip Glass contributes an excellent score which is strongly
supportive without being intrusive, and an interesting change from
the standard orchestral scores of Hollywood productions. The art
direction, by Kazuo Takenaka and Eiko Ishioka combines somewhat
stark realism with lushly artificial surroundings for the no-
velistic excerpts. The design is magnificent in its details and
blends together very nicely when, at the end, Mishima's life,
art, and action begin to converge on a single point. John Bai-
ley, the cinematographer, has the dream assignment of displaying
three totally different styles in a single movie, and pulls it
off brilliantly. The editing of "Mishima" also deserves special
commendation, as the editor is required to supply continuity
between three different time lines while preserving the thematic
relationships between events in the various settings.
"Mishima" has an uncommercial subject and is made in
Japanese, with English subtitles and narration by Roy Scheider
(which is excellent, both in writing and delivery). Foreign
language films frequently put off many filmgoers, but dubbing
"Mishima" is nearly unthinkable, as the film relies on an aggres-
sive Japaneseness which could not be achieved by actors speaking
in English. I urge all to see "Mishima" anyway, as it is an
unusual and important film. It may not find a large audience,
but it is certain to prove highly influential to American films
in the next decade.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiherleeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (10/21/85)
>[Schrader] directed his other films ("Hardcore", "American >Gigolo", "Cat People") this way, too... If that is supposed to be an exhaustive list, you left out the very effective BLUE COLLAR. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper