Shinjû: Ten no amijima (1969)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Masahiro Shinoda

Writers:

Monzaemon Chikamatsu (play)
Masahiro Shinoda (writer)

Release Date:

11 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In 18th Century in Japan, the paper merchant Jihei (Kichiemon Nakamura) falls in love for the courtesan Koharu (Shima Iwashita)...

Plot Keywords:

Merchant | Suicide | Prostitute | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Surrealism

Awards:

7 wins

Cast

Shima Iwashita	...	Koharu and Osan
Kichiemon Nakamura	...	Jihei
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Makoto Akatsuka
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Owner of the Yamatoya
Jun Hamamura
Sumiko Hidaka
Tokie Hidari	...	Osugi
Yoshi Kato	...	Gosaemon
Shizue Kawarazaki	...	Osan's mother
Hosei Komatsu	...	Tahei
Yusuke Takita	...	Mogoemon

Also Known As:

Double Suicide

Runtime:

142 min | USA:105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Art Theatre Guild

Movie Connections:

Featured in Music for the Movies: Tôru Takemitsu (1994)

Fascinating Film Deserves To Be Placed Among The Great Ones

Riveting, highly original production based on a popular 'Bunraku' (theater that uses puppets). Actors assume the roles of the puppets and the viewer can see the puppeteers rearranging sets but remaining silent observers of the action. Everything about this movie spells disaster: the acting is overdone, the sets are unrealistic and the narrative is an obvious morality tale. While these elements normally would sink any movie quickly, director Shinoda turns the alleged deficiencies into the film's greatest strengths. Most of what I've read about the film suggests that almost everybody feels the material creates a distance between the characters and the audience but in my case the opposite was true. Because I was not distracted with trivial things, I was able to focus solely on the main characters. I connected with these people and their problems in a way I rarely do. The strange technique used here proved to be a brilliant way to engage the viewer emotionally. All actors are memorable but Shima Iwashita is clearly the one actor who stands up. It is funny but I did not realize she was playing two characters until the very end; she is that good (or I was too involved with the story that I did not even realize it). Toichiro Narushima's b/w cinematography creates some truly mesmerizing images. In any case, I recommend this one-of-a-kind film to adventurous viewers.