07-27-2020, 01:26 PM
Well, that was interesting.
Criterion.com just put up a collection of movies scored by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. It includes Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky, The Handmaid's Tale, High Heels (by Almadovar), Love Is the Devil (about artist Francis Bacon), etc.
But one stood out for me: Gohatto, a samurai film whose cast includes Beat Takeshi and Tadanobu Asano (of Ichi the Killer fame).
In a samurai compound, young warriors are tested and a few are selected to join the militia. Perhaps the best of the bunch is a pretty boy with girlish locks.
Before selecting him, Beat Takeshi and the other elder privately discuss the boy's appearance and the possibility that he will become a distraction among the ranks. Thus begins a most peculiar film in which various samurai become infatuated with this new recruit, and jealousies abound. An oft-used phrase is "not so inclined," spoken by those purporting to be immune to the boy's charm, or spoken about someone who couldn't possibly succumb to him. But even the strongest and most heterosexual of the bunch are seen to waver at times, and attempts to squelch growing unrest (and solve mysterious deaths) grow complicated with a growing number of suspects.
The subtitles are concise and well-done, but laden with so many names (with different names or titles used for the same person, and sometimes referring to a place or a dojo or who knows what) that you really have to pay close attention to follow everything. It didn't help that there's another pretty boy in the cast, and though in hindsight they are easily distinguishable, early on I was confusing them, and got lost in the shuffle.
Oh, there's a generous amount of swordfights and stick-fighting (Bojo?) throughout.
The movie is beautifully filmed and well worth the mental effort to follow. As for Ryuichi Sakamoto's score, it's brilliant, setting just the right tone.
FYI, gohatto translates as taboo.
Criterion.com just put up a collection of movies scored by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. It includes Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky, The Handmaid's Tale, High Heels (by Almadovar), Love Is the Devil (about artist Francis Bacon), etc.
But one stood out for me: Gohatto, a samurai film whose cast includes Beat Takeshi and Tadanobu Asano (of Ichi the Killer fame).
In a samurai compound, young warriors are tested and a few are selected to join the militia. Perhaps the best of the bunch is a pretty boy with girlish locks.
Before selecting him, Beat Takeshi and the other elder privately discuss the boy's appearance and the possibility that he will become a distraction among the ranks. Thus begins a most peculiar film in which various samurai become infatuated with this new recruit, and jealousies abound. An oft-used phrase is "not so inclined," spoken by those purporting to be immune to the boy's charm, or spoken about someone who couldn't possibly succumb to him. But even the strongest and most heterosexual of the bunch are seen to waver at times, and attempts to squelch growing unrest (and solve mysterious deaths) grow complicated with a growing number of suspects.
The subtitles are concise and well-done, but laden with so many names (with different names or titles used for the same person, and sometimes referring to a place or a dojo or who knows what) that you really have to pay close attention to follow everything. It didn't help that there's another pretty boy in the cast, and though in hindsight they are easily distinguishable, early on I was confusing them, and got lost in the shuffle.
Oh, there's a generous amount of swordfights and stick-fighting (Bojo?) throughout.
The movie is beautifully filmed and well worth the mental effort to follow. As for Ryuichi Sakamoto's score, it's brilliant, setting just the right tone.
FYI, gohatto translates as taboo.
