User Reviews

Mizoguchi is acclaimed for all of his work, but mostly praised for the succession of masterpieces he directed at the end of his career. "Chikamatsu monogatari" is my favourite. Note the original title means "A Tale From Chikamatsu", after the classic Japanese author Chikamatsu Monzaemon who wrote the early 18th century play the movie is based on.

It is a rare film where each image is finely crafted as a piece of art, yet without ostentation. "We must clean our eyes between each shot", Mizoguchi said: he perfectly applies this precept here. Each shot is meaningful, none feels superfluous.

LOVE IN A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

The movie narrates a love story, yet with important social and psychological themes, as shows the regular alternation between the lovers' scenes and others. It depicts a harsh society where nobles rule ruthlessly, money reigns, people are dominated by conventions and adultery is punished by crucifixion. Traditions overrule everything including family bonds:

• Mohei's father rejects his son instead of helping him and denounces him (even if he frees him afterwards).
• O-Tama's uncle blames his niece for a petty lie.
• O-San's family blames her and finally gives her up.
• Women are the main victims: O-San's family decided to marry her to a much older, despicable man; he cheats on her but she has to go; O-Tama is abused but also has to go.

It is a world of corruption and hypocrisy:

• Ishun condemns the adulterous lovers at the beginning but cheats on his wife.
• Isan pretends he is concerned by Ishun's misfortune but conspires for his downfall.
• Sukeimon betrays his master.
• There are political intrigues involving debts and law.

This society seems doomed to carry on, as show recurring events and symbols:

• The output of the printing house is calendars issued every year.
• The chestnut merchant comes every year.
• There is a crucifixion at the beginning and another one at the end.
• When Ishun is eventually discharged, Isan who will take over looks just as vile (though more intelligent, perhaps).

In this context, the love story is all the more compelling since O-San and Mohei fight against everything: law, reputation, conventions, family. The scenes between the lovers become increasingly intense. Eventually when they are condemned, they look happy because they can remain together even if they die.

RELEVANT AESTHETICS

Images express how their relationship liberates them. At the beginning they are suffocating in the printing house: it is filled with people, objects, beams, screens, shadows and even spider webs when Mohei is held captive. O-San has financial issues. Mohei is sick. When they run away, they are first obliged to take shelter in dark places and hide between huge barrels that seem to crush them. However, when and after they voice their love, they are in nature: despite the difficult situation, it feels as if we can breathe. A unique shot shows there is no going back: as Mohei runs down a hill followed by O-San, the camera pivots down on the two characters lost in the endless slope. It signifies in a simple, powerful way the intensity of their love but also how it will lead them to irreversible consequences.

Unfortunately this liberation is short-lived: after Mohei's father refuses to help them, they are confined in a small dark hut. Then they are held inside again. The movie ends on a stunning camera movement, zooming high out of the lovers among the crowd. It is the only such movement in the film, making it even more gripping (somewhat reversed from the above-mentioned shot on the hill, although in the latter the camera pivots down without zooming): it magnificently summarises the love story surrounded by a hostile society.

Mizoguchi's images are more than masterly: they are metaphysical. He shows a high respect for oppressed characters: they are framed close and the camera discreetly follows them, slightly going up as they come closer or going down as they kneel, which happens frequently. He also demonstrates decency: the shot becomes distant when the scene grows too personal, for instance when the lovers spend their first night together in the hut or in the example below.

ONE FINE ILLUSTRATION

These superb aesthetics show even in apparently simple scenes. Just one example: when O-San meets O-Tama in her room at the beginning of the movie.

• Shot 1: general view of the room. O-San enters, moves forward and kneels while O-Tama moves to the back. The camera adjusts to O-San as described above (respect for persons).
• Shot 2: closer image precisely when O-Tama moves forward. This subtle coordination of movement (image and character) makes the shot transition look completely natural. We get closer as the conversation becomes more intimate.
• Shot 3: even closer image, now from the opposite side of the room, precisely when O-Tama turns around. Again, the transition is fluid (matching movements) and the close image shows the increasing intimacy. The opposite shot illustrates the shock of O-Tama's revelation: Ishun is abusing her. Music rises at the end.
• Shot 4: same as shot 1 but we now see the two women from the back since they have turned around. The camera has resumed its initial, distant position out of consideration for the despaired characters. Both women are faceless: reduced to silence, denied a proper existence, anonymous victims. The music insures the transition with shot 3 and highlights their sorrow.

Hence in just four seemingly simple shots (of which two are similar), Mizoguchi reveals the characters' emotions and condition in a perfectly fluid manner. The scene lasts a bit more than two minutes but embodies a whole story. One jewel amidst many others.

A last note about the score. The aggressive music during the opening credits announces a movie without compromise: be ready for an aesthetical and emotional experience. During the film, the score delicately beautifies scenes (e.g. the discreet bells when Mohei is captive at the beginning). Eventually, the music becomes more aggressive (e.g. at O-San's family's house), and the movie ends on notes similar to the beginning: the inevitable tragedy has unravelled.

Watching this was love at first sight. I am just astounded by how much I adored it.

For a movie that's considered a minor work in Mizoguchi's filmography, A Story of Chikamatsu is nothing less than a masterwork, every bit as moving as more acclaimed work like Sansho the Bailiff. This is essentially a love story with a healthy heaping of social criticism, but it goes down easily due to its interesting characters and steady pace. I enjoyed how the two leads became lovers only after being unjustly persecuted by a society in which neither was ever fully contented. In that hostile, greedy world, their love becomes a refuge, ironically far more pure than the intentions of their pursuers, motivated more by ego and materialism than anything else.

An adult tragedy of two pursued lovers during Japan's feudal period. It was a rigid society divided by class and gender. Mohei, a talented and decent scroll maker with a promising future, belongs to the servant class. A relatively minor infraction on his part is turned into a major offense by his nasty employer, and when the Master throws Mohei out and has charges brought against him, the Master's wife happens to discover that the Master has been having "illicit adulterous affairs" on the side.

The punishment is literal crucifixion for Mohai, so the Master's wife helps him escape and runs away with him. The unyielding Master Scrollmaker sics the authorities on both of them. The wife is on the verge of suicide, but recovers her desire to live when she discovers that she and Mohai have secretly loved each other for years. She willingly joins Mohai in their journey up hill and down dale and for this she too is charged and faces crucifixion.

It's a story for grown up sensibilities because the emotional bonds involved -- not just between the pair of illicit lovers but their friends and relatives -- are intricate. The parents don't want them around because if they're caught hiding the fugitives, they face the same punishment. Everyone is ready to squeal on them because what the lovers are doing is "against the law." The performances are adequate once you accept and get past the Japanese filigrees. The fugitive couple are both fine but some of the supporting players are reaching for the stars.

I won't spell out the bittersweet ending. The movie itself is worth catching, filled with tension, intrigue, and action.

"A Story From Chikamatsu" (Lit.). Viewed on Streaming. Restoration = nine (9) stars; cinematography = eight (8) stars; subtitles = seven (7) stars; music = two (2) stars. Director Kenji Mizoguchi's fascination with classical literature from and dramas originally written for the Japanese puppet theater (that later became stage plays) during the Edo period couldn't be more obvious. "Chikamatsu" is a pen name (not a place in Japan!) of a playwright who created puppet dramas but is probably best remembered for his domestic plays of love and suicides written in the early 18th Century that seemed to cater to women audiences. Mizoguchi's scenario starts with a purely accidental romantic encounter and continues (through many twists and turns) as a high socioeconomic romantic barrier (between the wife of a wealthy merchant and an employee) slowly dissolves even in the face of institutionalized execution for adultery. Once again, the Director spins a tale where the male protagonist's happiness is derived from a woman's sacrifice and the emphasis (from personal experience?) is on the attraction that some "strong" women have for "weak," impoverished men with close to zero prospects. While this is not a morality photo-play, Mizoguchi stresses (perhaps to the extreme?) that adultery (real or imagined) was a big deal in Japan's Pre-modern Social System. Adultery laws were a bit tricky though. Husbands could have (were expected to have?) unmarried female lovers. Wives who took on male lovers (married or single) were deemed to have committed adultery. Both lovers faced execution for their actions. "Proof" of adultery could be based on heresy, gossip or other circumstantial evidence (and motivated by business jealousy or revenge). The husband and families of adulterers could be thrown in jail and have their assets confiscated. Even villages the adulterers came from could be punished! (It would seem that same-sex adulterous relationships were not legally addressed, since, apparently, they were assumed never to occur!) Criterion's restoration is outstanding! Cinematography is very good (often due to the camera subtly "floating" on a crane. Subtitles are a bit long and often fail to fully capture the Kensai-Ben flavor of line deliveries. Music uses only Japanese instruments. While this may be commendable, performances are uneven with percussion used more to provide irritating acoustic-shocks than to enhance scene richness. Recommended. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

"Chikamatsu monogatari", which means "A Story from Chikamatsu", or "The Crucified Lovers" is an old Japanese 100-minute movie from 1954, so last year it had its 65th anniversary. The director here is Kenji Mizoguchi and I had a chance to watch this film on the big screen on the occasion of a retrospective on his most famous works. So yes, this definitely count among them. Mizoguchi is not credited as a writer here, but the two writers who turned the play into a movie screenplay also worked with Mizoguchi on other occasions and projects. This is a black-and-white film, which should surprise nobody given the age, and of course it is also a sound movie. I will spare you the names of the cast because iut would be utter copy and paste for me, so feel free to check them out yourself if you want to know about them. Those who are into really old Asian films could maybe even recognize one or the other as there are several pretty experienced actors on board here. At the center of the film, there are 4 characters, even if eventually it is really just two. But first things first: We have a really influential businessman and one of his high-profile employees. These are the two men. Then we have the businessman's wife and also a maid. The businessman wants to have a sexual relationship with said maid, but she refuses telling the man that she is actually together with the employee. Which is a lie, even if she could see herself with him. He, however, is only interested in the mistress as we find out later on in this film. So you could say there is quadruple relationship trouble in here. And yes that existed already back then, actually not just in 1954, but even at the end of the 17th century because this is where the film is set. Anyway, the mistress (female of "master" here, not in the sense of affair, a bit confusing given the plot) finds out about her husband's infidelity and wants to catch him in the act, so she changes rooms with the young woman and wants to expose her husband when once again that night he would come to the younger woman's room. Still, by the way, Kagawa is not a lot older than Minamida, even if she looks older. At least I thought so, maybe because of how stunning Minamida is. Sadly, she is not alive anymore, but Kagawa is and she is close to the age of 90 already now and still acting. She also turns out to be the sole lead actress in this film during the second half, which is a bit of a pity as I really would have liked to see more from Minamida. Anyway, what I actually wanted to say is that this idea of catching him int he act goes wrong and the result is that the boss is not happy at all. In order to avoid punishment after being accused of having an affair, his mistress and the successful employee decide to flee. When they are completely desperate, they decide to kill themselves in order to avoid punishment and in order to avoid being on the run for the rest of their lives. However, when he confesses her that he always loved her, she is apparently happy enough to hear it that she decides she wants to stay alive and live with him and this is when the two were actually getting together, but not before that when the husband suspected they did. No happy ending though as the two are eventually caught through coincidence when a chestnut seller tells the hunters where he saw the two. And before the closing credits roll in, we find out they are about to be executed. This is obviously not a happy ending at all because you went the two to be happy and get away (and the maid for me please), but it is the realistic outcome and I applaud them for taking this route, even if it is a bit depressing.

So yeah, it is these four characters at the center of it all. Sometimes there are smaller supporting players like the actress who plays one character's mother also getting their fair share of screen time. I think the moments when the film turns away from this quartet or has scenes, in which only one of them is included, the quality gets a bit worse. In general I felt that there was actually a big gap in quality between the film's best moments and scenes and the weaker forgettable parts. Like it is easy to remember when the successful businessman tries the maid to sleep with him. Or the trap with the women changing bedsides. Or when we see the two lovers before their (cancelled) suicide. And there are more moments that maybe you will remember. I must say thought hat in-between these moments the film had quite a few lengths and I cannot deny that it dragged a bit for me here and there. Somehow I have a feeling that this is a movie that you will appreciate more when you watch it a second time, but right now I was not too impressed to do it immediately I must say. Then perhaps you'd also understand immediately who is who and which actor/actress (not a discrimination to call somebody an actress) plays which part really. Or maybe it as just me, but I always need a little while with Asian films. Anyway, I think this is the fourth or fifth film by Mizoguchi I saw during this retrospective and there was only one that did not do too much for me from the bunch. This one here I liked more for sure and maybe it is even my favorite from those I have seen. Still I'd say that the rating is too high here on imdb. Sure it wasn't seen and rated by too many, but it should not be anywhere near the best 250 films ever made. I do give it a thumbs-up though. Finally, I want to say a few words on the genre classification. Mizoguchi's most known films are dramas through and through and this one here is certainly not an exception. Comedy parts are almost inexistent and those few that you will maybe hear one or two audience members laugh about are really just examples where the audience really was desperately looking for such. I am pretty sure that even if a guy moves around in a clumsy manner with a lantern in his hand, it was not really intended as comedy back then. Look how old this is, less than ten years after World War II (and the two bombs...). Perception of comedy was something entirely different back then. However, it is also a period piece, not the traditional kind you get these days constantly starring Keira Knightley, but something entirely different given when and when it was made. With the costumes it is definitely a bit sad this was not a film in color. So you will also learn a bit about customs and traditions back then, which is always nice about a caorner of the world so endlessly far away from me. And to sum it all up, the soundtrack was also really Asian if you cans ay it like that. The instruments you hear are choices you really almost never hear in Hollywood films. Back then as well as today. And the ways in which they are used are also not uncommon for old Japanese films. Sometimes you don't hear a note for over 5 minutes and then you hear the soundtrack almost as loud as the actors are talking. Interesting. Overall, I give this movie a thumbs-up and I am glad I got to watch it on the occasion of this retrospective, even if I am not too enthusiastic about it. Still go give it a chance if it's on. It's nice evidence why Mizoguchi is considered among best of the rest (i.e. everybody except Kurosawa) when there is talk about the finest Japanese filmmakers of all time. No surprise there were around 50 people in my showing.

Mizoguchi's "classy" compositions, living tableaux and indiscernible camera movements shape the contrivances of the story into a solemn criticism of social conventions proliferating hypocrisy and greed. By juxtaposing the most definitive shot-crucified lovers in twilight-with the final proud parade, he avoids the fashionable misery/martyrdom obsession of theses days, so important for a story this tragic and brimming with human cruelty. But what makes this film truly memorable is the unexpected and genuine passion between the two main actors/characters when they decide to live, breaking through the reserved mise-en-scène.

Oh, How delirious Mohei kisses Osan's sore calf and holds her tight! It's awesome!