Probably not as bad as its reputation, but still rather deeply flawed, John Huston's The Barbarian and the Geisha is one of those films that purports to tell a true story but almost never feels true in its own right. That's not to say that it's actually bad, just that it leans so far into melodramatic tropes that I simply stopped believing that there was even a tenuous connection to actual historical events or that things would play out like this in the realm of the world the movie itself created. I was reminded of John Ford's superior The Prisoner of Shark Island that had some connection to reality, pumped up the dramatic bits beyond believability, but still managed to keep the entertainment core of the film alive, something that Huston didn't manage to do. Sure, there are stories that Fox took away the film from him in the edit, that he, for at least the second time, simply abandoned a film in post-production, but Huston still approved a script full of melodramatic nonsense and shot it.
Townsend Harris (John Wayne) arrives at the Shimoda harbor, expecting to be received in his official capacity as Consul General to Japan, but the Japanese governor Tamura (So Yamamura) will not receive him in official capacity because of a disagreement over the definitions and original process of agreement that Commodore Perry signed with the Shogun two years prior. This puts Harris and his translator, Henry Heusken (Sam Jaffe) into an awkward position where they must remain in Japan, waiting for the Shogun in Edo to recognize him officially while Tamura uses his official position to undermine Harris' basic ability to maintain a household in the area by, at the minimum, refusing to restrict the native population's harassment of Harris and his household, but Harris sticks through the silence from Edo and the negative treatment from the citizens of Shimoda for months.
The most interesting parts of the film deal with the diplomatic aspects. The little argument about specificity of language that starts the film is surprisingly interesting since the two characters are arguing about something on the surface while there's implied drama just underneath. It's a surprisingly tense encounter, and watching as Harris has to do his best to navigate this strange world, its customs and mores, all without losing his Americanness exemplified by Wayne's performance (a surprisingly restrained one that showed Wayne did have some chops), is where the dramatic core of the film lies.
However, there's Okichi (Eiko Ando) to deal with. More folk tale than actual history, Okichi is the eponymous geisha that Tamura sends into Harris' house as maid, potential lover, and definite spy. The melodramatic core of the film is the relationship between Harris and Okichi, and it just doesn't get the kind of attention it needs to really flower. It also never feels really believable because a lot of it relies on Ando to sell her side of things, and she seems to be speaking phonetically, all of her dialogue coming out haltingly when she speaks English. The relationship also has no real dramatic underpinnings, the two simply falling into a love they cannot ultimately consummate because of their cultural barriers, and it feels like either the writing by Charles Grayson never established or the editing cut out some of the necessary building blocks to actually give the two a reason to fall for each other. Throw in the fact that we have larger dramatic things, like a cholera outbreak that Harris has to fight with fire, and this central romantic relationship just feels unbelievable and like a very large distraction.
That cholera epidemic is also where the diplomatic side of things passed the point of believability for me. It's the kind of adventure-esque thing a writer would put into a real story to pump up the action, and while it's well filmed and actually a bit exciting, it breaks the reality of the events for me, pushing the diplomatic side of things into the melodramatic that the romantic side always waded into. I don't think I'd complain about it as much if it were the only real source of this fake kind of action in the film, but combined with the unremarkable and unbelievable romance, it just doesn't raise my interest in the film as a whole.
I kind of get the sense that Huston was in the middle of a phase where he was using filmmaking as an excuse to travel, and capturing the colors of Japan is the highlight of the film. I mean, I've seen my share of Japan through cinema, so it's not exactly new to me. And yet, it's still nice to see the seaside community of Shimoda, the countryside between Shimoda and Edo, and the Edo palace in such bright colors with wide lenses that let the details sink in. I also think that Wayne put in a finely credible performance, even though he and Huston were apparently at odds a lot during filming (completely with perhaps apocryphal stories of Wayne choking Huston). I also like Sam Jaffe as a character actor, and he does his small role credit.
Is it good? No, not at all. Is it a disaster? Not really. It's just this over-romanticized look at the life of a real man that goes so far over the edge that it doesn't feel real anymore. Throw in the fact that the romance feels off as well, and there's not a whole lot to grasp onto than physical production (which is actually really, really good) and performance, which is largely solid. Is it the worst film Huston had made? Well, it and Beat the Devil are gonna have to fight that one out by themselves...for now.
Townsend Harris (John Wayne) arrives at the Shimoda harbor, expecting to be received in his official capacity as Consul General to Japan, but the Japanese governor Tamura (So Yamamura) will not receive him in official capacity because of a disagreement over the definitions and original process of agreement that Commodore Perry signed with the Shogun two years prior. This puts Harris and his translator, Henry Heusken (Sam Jaffe) into an awkward position where they must remain in Japan, waiting for the Shogun in Edo to recognize him officially while Tamura uses his official position to undermine Harris' basic ability to maintain a household in the area by, at the minimum, refusing to restrict the native population's harassment of Harris and his household, but Harris sticks through the silence from Edo and the negative treatment from the citizens of Shimoda for months.
The most interesting parts of the film deal with the diplomatic aspects. The little argument about specificity of language that starts the film is surprisingly interesting since the two characters are arguing about something on the surface while there's implied drama just underneath. It's a surprisingly tense encounter, and watching as Harris has to do his best to navigate this strange world, its customs and mores, all without losing his Americanness exemplified by Wayne's performance (a surprisingly restrained one that showed Wayne did have some chops), is where the dramatic core of the film lies.
However, there's Okichi (Eiko Ando) to deal with. More folk tale than actual history, Okichi is the eponymous geisha that Tamura sends into Harris' house as maid, potential lover, and definite spy. The melodramatic core of the film is the relationship between Harris and Okichi, and it just doesn't get the kind of attention it needs to really flower. It also never feels really believable because a lot of it relies on Ando to sell her side of things, and she seems to be speaking phonetically, all of her dialogue coming out haltingly when she speaks English. The relationship also has no real dramatic underpinnings, the two simply falling into a love they cannot ultimately consummate because of their cultural barriers, and it feels like either the writing by Charles Grayson never established or the editing cut out some of the necessary building blocks to actually give the two a reason to fall for each other. Throw in the fact that we have larger dramatic things, like a cholera outbreak that Harris has to fight with fire, and this central romantic relationship just feels unbelievable and like a very large distraction.
That cholera epidemic is also where the diplomatic side of things passed the point of believability for me. It's the kind of adventure-esque thing a writer would put into a real story to pump up the action, and while it's well filmed and actually a bit exciting, it breaks the reality of the events for me, pushing the diplomatic side of things into the melodramatic that the romantic side always waded into. I don't think I'd complain about it as much if it were the only real source of this fake kind of action in the film, but combined with the unremarkable and unbelievable romance, it just doesn't raise my interest in the film as a whole.
I kind of get the sense that Huston was in the middle of a phase where he was using filmmaking as an excuse to travel, and capturing the colors of Japan is the highlight of the film. I mean, I've seen my share of Japan through cinema, so it's not exactly new to me. And yet, it's still nice to see the seaside community of Shimoda, the countryside between Shimoda and Edo, and the Edo palace in such bright colors with wide lenses that let the details sink in. I also think that Wayne put in a finely credible performance, even though he and Huston were apparently at odds a lot during filming (completely with perhaps apocryphal stories of Wayne choking Huston). I also like Sam Jaffe as a character actor, and he does his small role credit.
Is it good? No, not at all. Is it a disaster? Not really. It's just this over-romanticized look at the life of a real man that goes so far over the edge that it doesn't feel real anymore. Throw in the fact that the romance feels off as well, and there's not a whole lot to grasp onto than physical production (which is actually really, really good) and performance, which is largely solid. Is it the worst film Huston had made? Well, it and Beat the Devil are gonna have to fight that one out by themselves...for now.