Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Yukio Mishima (life story and his novel)
Chieko Schrader (Japanese script)

Release Date:

20 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

On November 25, 1970, Japan's greatest author Yukio Mishima commited an act that shocked the literary world...

Plot:

A fictionalized account in four segments of the life of Japan's celebrated twentieth-century author Yukio Mishima...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Revolt | Katana Sword | Scene Based On Painting | Army

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ken Ogata	...	Yukio Mishima (segment "November 25, 1970")
Masayuki Shionoya	...	Morita (segment "November 25, 1970")
Hiroshi Mikami	...	Cadet #1 (segment "November 25, 1970")
Junya Fukuda	...	Cadet #2 (segment "November 25, 1970")
Shigeto Tachihara	...	Cadet #3 (segment "November 25, 1970")
Junkichi Orimoto	...	General Mashita (segment "November 25, 1970")
Naoko Otani	...	Mother (segment "Flashbacks")
Gô Rijû	...	Mishima, age 18-19 (segment "Flashbacks")
Masato Aizawa	...	Mishima - age 9-14 (segment "Flashbacks")
Yuki Nagahara	...	Mishima, age 5 (segment "Flashbacks")
Kyuzo Kobayashi	...	Literary Friend (segment "Flashbacks")
Yuki Kitazume	...	Dancing Friend (segment "Flashbacks")
Haruko Kato	...	Grandmother (segment "Flashbacks")
Yasosuke Bando	...	Mizoguchi (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion")
Hisako Manda	...	Mariko (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion")

Also Known As:

Mishima (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Mexico:B15 (2009) | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | UK:15 | Japan:(Banned) | Germany:16 | Canada:18A | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Mishima's family originally cooperated with the making of this film but when their request that the gay bar scene be removed was denied, they withdrew their help.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The globe's stand was not knocked during the scuffle.

Quotes:

Yukio Mishima (Narrator): I wanted to explode, light the sky for an instant and disappear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cat People: An Intimate Portrait by Paul Schrader (2002) (V)

Magnificent

A story told in four chapters and in three levels. Flashbacks of Yukio Mishima's life, dramatizations of his written works, and the events of his final day of life.

If Mishima was a fictional character, I doubt if anyone would believe or accept such a creation. But he was a real, flesh and blood, human being, which makes the film all the more incredible. Granted that some of the facts have been dramatized or "enhanced" for the screen, but the story is quite factual.

A man of many contrasts: A devoted family man who kept a gay lover. A writer who saw his words being "not enough". A patriotic man at home in the present who yearned for a return to Imperial Japan's past glory. A man who struggled to unite movement with action, and saw everything he strove for fall apart at the most critical moment.

The film is lovingly made, magnificently acted, painstakingly edited and the musical soundtrack by Philip Glass will stay with you for days. The film's tight budget doesn't show at all.

Now available on DVD, this film is a worthy addition to the collections of true cinemaphiles.

My rating: 10/10