(Sansho the Bailiff)
Country: JAP
Technical: bw 124m
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Cast: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa
Synopsis:
Eleventh century Japan: en route to seeing their father, two young children and their mother are kidnapped and sold into slavery while passing through a notorious province. Years later the son manages to escape, but finds only ruined lives when he attempts to reunite with his family.
Review:
A depressingly fatalistic tale, its foregone conclusion evident almost from the off, but it is the director's trademark formalistic handling - eschewing of close-ups, artful composition, symbolism - that makes it a fascinating watch. At the time very much in competition with Kurosawa's brand of period moviemaking, it now seems altogether more eastern, combining dreamlike and brutally realistic tones.
(Sansho the Bailiff)
Country: JAP
Technical: bw 124m
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Cast: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa
Synopsis:
Eleventh century Japan: en route to seeing their father, two young children and their mother are kidnapped and sold into slavery while passing through a notorious province. Years later the son manages to escape, but finds only ruined lives when he attempts to reunite with his family.
Review:
A depressingly fatalistic tale, its foregone conclusion evident almost from the off, but it is the director's trademark formalistic handling - eschewing of close-ups, artful composition, symbolism - that makes it a fascinating watch. At the time very much in competition with Kurosawa's brand of period moviemaking, it now seems altogether more eastern, combining dreamlike and brutally realistic tones.
