Sunday, February 14, 2016

732. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
1985
Directed by Paul Schrader








I have never read anything by Yukio Mishima,  although I will eventually as he is represented on the 1001 Books List.  Maybe if I had I would have appreciated this movie more.  As it was, I was bored throughout the entire film.

The plot is relayed in a very messy way, so I apologize if this description is muddled.  Basically, we are told the story of Mishima's life, which admittedly is a rather fascinating one.  Interwoven in the narrative are adaptations of three of Mishima's novels.  My favorite was the story The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, when a man is so intimidated by a temple's beauty that he sets fire to it.

This film is obviously gorgeous; you might even be able to tell from the above picture that the movie is a visual masterpiece.  Still, I can't honestly say I like it.  Mishima is clearly an intriguing man, so why I was so bored?  I suppose I felt like the movie was a bit superficial.  It was beautiful on the outside, but we didn't quite dive into Mishima's character like I wanted to.

I am not even sure that is why I didn't like it; that was just a guess.  Maybe I will give "A Sea of Fertility" a try sooner rather than later and revisit it.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Mishima's family initially supported the film but withdrew their help when the director insisted on including the gay bar scene.

2 comments:

  1. It's a long time since I last saw this .. perhaps 20 years .. but I remember it pretty well and positively .. despite (till then) having never heard of Mishima.

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    1. It's certainly beautiful! But not really my thing.

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