Kwaidan (1964)

A revisit of Masaki Kobayashi's masterpiece of atmospheric horror, "Kwaidan" (1964), an epic collection of four spine-chilling tales of the supernatural, effortlessly enthralled yet again, with its majestic flourish, this time in a brand new, fully restored, uncut Criterion transfer, the spectacular cinematography with its gorgeous colours enhanced, like you've never seen. 

All four stories now appear in their full, unabridged detail, previously unavailable even in the earlier Criterion edition. Of course, the cuts were in no way hampering the meaning or the flow of the stories, but what is the point if a film is not enjoyed in its complete form, in its original, intended glory?

What we get with the new release, is the complete 183 minutes version with a mesmerizing image transfer that will make your jaw drop. The richness of the beautiful colours is significantly highlighted in this stunning new transfer. The film's biggest asset is its chilling, slow-burning, otherworldly atmosphere, the likes of which are rarely matched, and this new edition with its sharper, fuller look, accentuates it like never before. 

Kobayashi takes us right into the realm of the spirits with a dense, enchanting environment replete with a bravura sound design and a dissonant score by the great Tôru Takemitsu, creating an unsettling, hypnotic atmosphere. The set design is magnificent; words are simply insufficient to describe how great the achieved look really is!

The supernatural realm comes frighteningly alive with Kobayashi's extraordinary vision. There are effects of the kind that would shame any modern horror. Forget all the mindless gore, fake CGI and those annoying, cliched jump scares of today; this is true horror that makes your hair stand on end, simply by placing you in spirit (pun not intended) in the ghostly otherworld created by the talent on board.

In order to enjoy a film like "Kwaidan", you really have to immerse yourself in the universe created by Kobayashi. Of course, he does more than half the job quite effortlessly, for once you witness those magnetic frames, you can't help but experience the mystical pull and be swept away, far within! With a strong command on storytelling already established with his prior masterworks like "Harakiri" (1962) and "The Human Condition" (1959-1961) films, the viewer cannot help but submit to Kobayashi's narrative prowess and watch the haunting poetry in motion unfold.

All of the tales are brilliant of course, but the one that stands tall is still "Hoichi the Earless" an old folk tale, often recreated in Japanese theatre as well. Akira Kurosawa regular, Takashi Shimura stars in this segment in an important role. There's a distinct tragic air to this ancient lore; a dirge-like quality that has to be seen and felt to be believed. The assembly of ghosts in a manor listening to the recital of a tragic tale of a lost battle is one of the greatest sequences ever seen in cinema, accomplishing the unique feat of being hair-raising and sorrowful at the same time!

"The Black Hair" tells the story of a wronged woman, whose husband, a samurai abandons her owing to poverty and returns many years later, full of regret, only to make a horrible discovery. The design of desolate ruins, and especially the makeup effects in this segment are nothing short of brilliant. It is unbelievable how authentic they are for the time the film was made.

"The Woman in the Snow", starring one of Japan's most famous stars, Tatsuya Nakadai, tells the tale of a ghostly woman who asks for a solemn oath from a young woodcutter in exchange for sparing his life. The woodcutter manages to keep the oath, except much later in his life. The consequences of breaking a promise are revealed in a terrifying twist. The use of colours in this segment is exemplary. Various vivid shades of blue and red are used to a striking effect. Special mention must be made of the colouring of the sky; the way it changes across times, and that nightmarish design of a giant eye looking down upon the earth is goose-bumpy as hell!

The final tale, "In a Cup of Tea" is the shortest and the most surrealistic of them all. It all begins when a middle-aged samurai begins to see the reflection of an unknown younger man in his cup of tea. The man in the reflection eventually shows up, causing havoc with the samurai's mental state.

This story ends with a fantastic meta twist, while maintaining in an initial disclaimer that it was an old folklore passed down across generations, but one that did not have a concrete ending! A clever little conclusion is provided here in the form of an epilogue of sorts, of course, and it is the kind of finale that will make you cheer in sheer admiration. 

"Kwaidan" is an essential classic of Japanese cinema. If you wish to witness a filmmaking marvel, grab it now!

Score: 10/10

The Human Condition (Ningen no Jōken) (Film series/Trilogy) (1959 - 1961)

***NOTE: The following analysis/review may contain MILD SPOILERS regarding some detail in the film, but not to the extent of making the film viewing experience any lesser.***

 

Finally stumbling upon a film that can't be done justice in mere words in a small blog spot such as this, even though your humble reviewer finds himself at a loss of words, an attempt shall definitely be made. For the hope to put this miracle of cinema across to his readers still prevails. A hope inspired by the central character of this soul-crushing film. Masaki Kobayashi's earnest story of Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai) must be told. For it is not just his story. It is the story of essentially every human being. Notice the deliberately highlighted usage of that word. It is difficult to find a real human being in this universe. There are but a handful like him, like Kaji, the unsung hero of this fateful saga.


Part I: No Greater Love

A young Kaji is sent to supervise some mining operations in a far off location, as part of a deal that would exempt him from a much dreaded conscription to the military service in turbulent World War II times. This is more so, because he writes a thesis that contradicts the current Japanese policies regarding exploitation of Chinese labour to help with the war effort. His supervisor thinks it is only fair that he puts his theories into practice. Kaji seizes the opportunity as it would also give him a chance to marry his sweetheart Michiko (Michiyo Aratama) and spend the rest of their lives together.

Alas, Kaji's excitement is short-lived, as upon arrival he finds himself thrown in a vast sea of exploitation and depravity. He comes face to face with the brutal truth of the horrid living conditions, blatant exploitation of labourers, akin to slavery, and rampant corruption amongst almost all hierarchical levels in the brass. Needless to say, they prove to be trying times for Kaji. He realizes that he may be the only morally sound person around, excepting maybe his kindly older partner, Okishima (So Yamamura) who comes to respect Kaji's ways.

Things take a turn for the worse when the Kempeitai unleashes around 600 Chinese POWs on their labour camp in order to assist with their work!

This heart-rending first chapter in Kaji's harrowing journey chronicles the trials and tribulations of his stint as the labour supervisor. It establishes that there is no greater love for Kaji than the love for humanity itself. In a world where humans seem to have ceased to be humans, Kaji struggles to keep his own moral fabric and humanistic ideals. He finds that the mining company could be a much worse battlefield than the actual battle grounds, for here, the enemy are his own people. Deemed an enemy sympathizer merely because he demands humane treatment for the special labourers that are the POWs, he ultimately finds himself sandwiched from all sides, for the system rots from within and there is no way he can salvage anything by himself. 

With rich characterization and an absorbing script Masaki Kobayashi tells a powerful tale that makes the viewers mute witnesses to Kaji's hapless situation. One circumstance is explored from different perspectives, that of Kaji, of his peers, of the brass who are only following orders and helping out their country, and finally of the Chinese prisoners! A deadly game of greed and sexual politics puts Kaji's methods to the test as he sinks in deeper and loses all hope of handling the matter his way. It is impossible not to be emotionally stirred by Kaji's predicament, even as he ends up losing his sleep over his workers and their plight that is just completely wrong and out of control, and in the process ends up neglecting her. So much for a happy married life!

Part II: Road to Eternity

In the second part of his journey Kaji ends up being conscripted into the Japanese Kwantung army anyway! He is a recruit in a company, leading a life that is far tougher than what he previously endured. Away from his wife, he now struggles to keep up with the strict military regime, but rotten apples exist everywhere. It is now the veterans and their immoral and unethical acts that Kaji has to battle with. Obara (Kunei Tanaka) a meek recruit ends up being the bashing boy for all these seniors. Kaji keeps his head, and earns the support of perhaps the only real friend he has, Shinjo (Kei Satô), a three year senior private. 

Rigorous boot camp training ensues, and the veterans and superiors continue to be slap-happy with their subordinates, perhaps just venting out their frustration in the name of being men out to do away with the cowards and preparing themselves for battle! Those who cry or express fatigue/pain aren't men anymore! The character of Obara has very clearly inspired that of Pvt. Pyle in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987). A lot of notable similarities can be found here. A certain incident with Obara fuels Kaji's anger and he takes matters in his own hands and attempts to show the middle finger to the military code and ethics, despite the book of the penal code being thrown at him as a reminder! A chance occurrence brings him back with his old buddy Lt. Kageyama (Keiji Sada).

This great second chapter showcases Kaji's desire to be one with his wife again; to live a life that was once his. Nakadai's performance is different in this film, for Kaji has now toughened up. He doesn't cry in helplessness as much. He keeps his straight face, but continues to keep his humanity alive. The meeting with his old friend has convinced him. Everyone finds kindred spirits. Everyone meets their loved ones again; if they survive. 

The road to eternity is followed, and hope lives on as he keeps reminding him of the promise to his wife. He will stay alive and will return to her. He will make every effort even to survive the worst storm that eventually shows up when the Russian army advances. A gritty battle, one of the best battle sequences ever filmed takes us to the finale of this chapter. 

 
Part III: A Soldier's Prayer

Kaji survives the deadly combat along with two other soldiers. His commander is killed in combat. But Kaji decides not to fight on. He doesn't want to die a dog's death, as he puts it! He wants to reunite with Michiko and live his former life again. He doesn't care about the army ethics; never much cared for them anyway. He always believed that it is important to live. It is human to live and want to live. His fellow soldier reminds him of the "Soldier's code" that Kaji seemed to be forgetting in his decision to go back home. Kaji points out to him that what they needed really was the defeated man's code! What is the point of battling on, when there is certain death and no victory? What honor are they protecting? And how does it help anyway? 

He decides to walk on, possibly to the nearby railroad station from where he can go back. The soldiers follow. It would prove to be a long and strenuous march to freedom. They lose their way in the woods, encounter passersby and refugees fleeing from areas attacked by the enemy. They choose to walk with the soldiers for they feel safe! Hunger, thirst, exhaustion follow; Kaji's followers give up or die, some add, some subtract, and the march continues, across thick, dense forests, marshlands, corn fields, and friendly camps of the Japanese army where they only face rejection for being deserters and are denied food and supplies!

Thus, Kaji gets more than he bargains for. The enemy has tripled with the Chinese farmers Militia and the Russian forces both close on their heels and of course, his own people who are still loyal to the army! What's worse is, even the Japanese women refugees they come across seem to think the Russian soldiers treat them better. It is a bitter truth nonetheless that Kaji himself witnesses but feels helpless about. He is clearly in the minority when it comes to being a "paragon of virtue" as one woman calls him.

This final chapter tends to get a tad repetitive and could have done with some editing. Kobayashi makes extensive use of dutch angles to portray the exasperation of the travelers and the impossibility of the herculean task of walking across vast lands in search of an oasis or a rescue or a good life that supposedly lies on the other side! In a tragic turn of events, life comes full circle and Kaji and his men land up as POWs of the Russian victors, and are subjected to rigorous labour work! Despite it all, Kaji, who is a pessimist as well as an optimist, never gives up and remembers his longing for Michiko. He talks to his wife in his head, imagines her waiting for him to return...!



Epilogue:

And so it continues. The eternal human condition. The endless struggle of man. Kaji's tribulations serve as a metaphor for everything that is purely human! A will to survive, to face the storm, to challenge the odds, but move on anyway. In the end it is all about living life and standing your ground. One of the main themes of "The Human Condition" reflects in some of Kobayashi's later films. In the same vein as he attacked on the Samurai code of honor in his films "Harakiri" (1962) and "Samurai Rebellion" (1967) and upheld the human code, through Kaji's story, he highlights the futility of war and the importance of a single human being. 

It is a known fact that war brings more losses than gains. It deprives people of their loved ones and their abodes. Destruction gives way to starvation and exploitation of the weak at the hands of the powerful. Men are killed or enslaved, women are raped, innocence is lost, humanity is destroyed. What good is the dignity of being a soldier, a loyal countryman? Should it be at the cost of foregoing humanism? Kaji reminds his fellow soldier who goes on a shooting rampage in the battlefield towards the end of Chapter II. While it is calm, run for it! There is no point dying like this in no man's land. No real dignity in it! No one left to recognize that dignity either! Whatever happened to preserving human dignity?

Throughout this 9-hour epic journey we see men and women walking on, on a road that seems endless. In the first chapter, myriad labourers walk in a single line across the vast open lands to fulfill their duties. In the second chapter the basic training ends with a long march that tests the soldiers' spirit and resilience. And the final chapter is essentially one long three-hour walk through the jungles of torment and grave danger of being killed. But Kaji is resolute enough. Kill or be killed, is his mantra. 

This final walk would be the march to freedom. This constant ambition to reach a goal, to touch the finish line is inherently a part of every human being's life. Man is essentially, perpetually seeking happiness. He is marching on endlessly towards that utopia, which seems non-existent at least in this universe. But Kaji's paradise exists. At least in his mind. A happy family life with his wife Michiko. Hope and perseverance are cardinal elements that a man must live by. And that is the lesson to be learnt from this extremely devastating film.

Masaki Kobayashi's "The Human Condition" is bleak and affecting and rips your soul apart. It is mighty effective storytelling that is capable of crushing and affecting the viewer psychologically under its heavy emotional weight. Nakadai makes it all the more believable with a flawless performance full of conviction. Those brooding eyes, the angst, the sheer helplessness and frustration of losing the trust of the people he really cares for, thanks to his own people who won't stand by him, all build up to one of the finest lead performances in the history of cinema. 

It is astonishing how a film of an epic scope such as this was made in a span of less than two years. It is a towering achievement in cinema that deserves its place amongst the World Cinema greats. Do not miss this journey. It is a miraculous film experience that will bring out the human being in you.

Final overall score: 10/10 

Samurai Rebellion (1967)

From the maker of the powerful anti-samurai stunner "Harakiri" (1962) comes another stab-through-the-heart masterpiece, "Samurai Rebellion" (1967). Much in the tradition of the former, "Samurai Rebellion" tells a potent story that focuses on the negatives of the feudal Lords in Japan, their unjust ways and the condition of their vassals, the samurai clan and their families who are always at the mercy of the powerful. Made to live and die by the Samurai code of honor, the vassals always have to "obey" no matter how irrational or absurd the command issued by their superiors.

In one such unfair episode, an aging vassal, a master swordsman, Isaburo Sasahara (Toshiro Mifune), on the brink of retirement is approached with a rather unusual request from his superiors, the head of the clan and the Chamberlain. That of getting his son Yogoro (Go Kato) married to one of the Lord's mistresses Ichi (Yoko Tsukasa) who can no longer stay in the Lord's castle for she faces banishment for incurring the Lord's displeasure! This strange request (an order, actually, or as they call it, an honor for the Sasahara family!) sets things in motion. One event leads to another, the Sasaharas experience new joys in their lives but these joys are short-lived, thanks to yet another startling request by the Lord that finally makes Isaburo take matters into his own hands and protect the honour and happiness of his family rather than bow down to the unfairness of the fickle Lord.

The above plot synopsis is deliberately vague, for just like "Harakiri", the USP of "Samurai Rebellion" is its skilfully designed screenplay that peels off layers in its steady progression and plays with the viewer's judgment and initial impressions. It is in Kobayashi's dexterous usage of the material at hand, that the entire weight of the film lies. With fabulously handled flashback-within-flashback scenes, we are made aware of certain hidden truths about matters that initially present an entirely different picture. Shinobu Hashimoto seems to have a penchant for writing such screenplays that test the viewer's judging abilities, what with "Harakiri" and Akira Kurosawa's much celebrated "Rashomon" (1950) also inducing a similar effect of shifting perceptions. 

With Kobayashi's fluid storytelling mastery, brilliant Japanese traditional music by Tôru Takemitsu, excellent cinematography by Kazuo Yamada, exceptional dialog and dramatically superlative character interactions, "Samurai Rebellion" packs a mighty punch. It is yet another bold film from the golden era of Japanese cinema, that quashes all the glory associated with the Samurai code of duty, honor and loyalty towards their superiors and instead focuses on standing up for what is right, and protecting the family's pride and joy. 

Not the all-powerful Lord, the Steward or even the head of the clan are worthy of any respect as is Isaburo, who, in fact, shamefully admits to being a henpecked husband for twenty years, lives with a loveless marriage with a tyrant of a wife whose noble family he had married into. For these sudden change of events in his life finally give him a reason to live and boost his spirit to protect and fight for his and his family's right. The immense satisfaction of sticking to his guns is palpable as he says "I've never felt so alive" when he rebels against his entire family with only his son Yogoro by his side.

It is a miraculous performance by the great Toshiro Mifune and could arguably be his greatest act ever, as he invests his talent to the fullest, and exhibits an otherwordly intensity and ferocity. It is impossible not to levitate from your seat and get all goose-bumpy and inspired at the same time, as he grits his teeth and clenches his fist and expresses his resentment at a momentary display of cowardice by his son and wakes him up to the fact that he must protect what is his and what he loves. That is the kind of involvement and dedication that the legendary actor has put into this role. Mifune just dives into the character of Isaburo, an epitome of self-sacrifice and valour, with all he has got, right up to the gut-wrenching final duel with another Japanese acting giant, Tatsuya Nakadai, who sadly gets less screen time but still makes a significant impression with his restrained delivery, heavy voice, piercing eyes and brooding intensity. 

It is the filmmaker's passionate handling of the subject that makes "Samurai Rebellion" so effective that you feel the angst, the frustration and completely empathize with the protagonist's predicament. It all comes through with an almost invisible effort, thanks to Kobayashi's masterful treatment. One can't help but be moved in some piercing moments that tug at the heartstrings. Hope still lives on as the narrative reaches its explosive culmination of a one man army battling against forces from all directions, yet steers clear of mediocrity and never comes across as unrealistic. At the end of it all, it does tend to make you miserable, but that is obviously, a merit. If you are looking for a cathartic, emotionally draining film experience, you simply cannot miss "Samurai Rebellion". It is a rare Samurai drama that is bursting with energy and violence and yet at its heart, is a poignant morality play. It doesn't get much better than this.

Score: 10/10