Ugetsu

If I were to say the name "Ugetsu" to anyone I know, I would probably see many confused looks on those people's faces. So is the problem with the filmography of one Kenji Mizoguchi, one of the great filmmakers of any time, who's films are praised by anyone who has seen them, yet is still relatively anonymous to the greater movie going public. Before I talk about "Ugetsu", it might help to put the film and Mizoguchi in context. Kenji Mizoguchi is often heralded as one of Japan's three master filmmakers, the other two being Akira Kurosawa, and Yasujiro Ozu; Kurosawa has been the most well-known through western audiences gaining popularity with films like "Rashomon", "Seven Samurai", winning a Best foreign film Oscar for the former. Ozu has been gaining more and more popularity over the years since being introduced to western audiences in the late 1970s, his "Tokyo Story" recently topped the 2012 BFI Greatest films list chosen by directors.

I'm waiting for the day Mizoguchi gets his due, he was known for his long uninterrupted camera movements, which got a nickname known as "scroll shots". The camera was never used to show off, but created a poetry with its motion, sometimes flowing from one scene to another. Compare this to Ozu who took the alternative route and hardly even moved his camera, but still captured a different kind of poetry within his compositions.

Another characteristic of Mizoguchi was his use of women as his main protagonists, usually depicting them in a tragic light, undone either by society or men, and usually succumb to life in brothels as a geisha or a prostitute. These instances were probably most realized in his modern day films "Osaka Elegy" and "Streets of Shame" (His last film), and his historical masterpiece "The Life of Oharu" (For my money, his best film).

With "Ugetsu", Mizoguchi is working with a historical setting, and the story is made up as a fable. It tells the parallel stories of ambitious men during wartime, and the tragic price their wives have to pay for it. Mizoguchi opens the film in a glorious crane shot of a poor farming village, as it focuses in on the main characters. We meet Genjuro (Masayuki Mori) a potter who has high hopes to make his fortune with his bowls, pots, and vases. He is seen loading up a carriage full of his pottery to sell, however his wife Myagi (Kinuyo Tanaki), wants him to stay and watch over her and their child. There has been talk of a war and fear that soldiers could raid their village. Genjuro doesn't seem too concerned about this and forges on ahead to make his fortune. Assisting Genjuro with selling his pottry, is a local farmer Tobei (Eitaro Ozawa), who also has eyes on becoming a great samurai; he is rejected for not having a suit of armor, and thought of as a common baggar, but he becomes comically insistent that he must be one. Tobei's wife Ohama (Mitsuko Mito) is not amused by this and discourages him in not going with Genjuro, but he does anyway.

Genjuro returns with a handful of gold, while Tobei mindlessly follows his pursuit in becoming a samurai. Genjuro becomes blinded by the gold he has received and decides to move him and his family to the big city where he's sure to achieve more wealth. Soon an army does come, and after his latest supply of pottery is almost destroyed, Genjuro decides to leave by boat to avoid any further danger; Tobei and Ohama also come along on the trip.

We go to the group of them on the boat, with one of the most famous scenes in the film, Mizoguchi creates an atmospheric setting full of darkness and fog, as the boat approaches another ship that is drifting. There they meet a dying sailor who warns them of pirates, and tells Genjuro and Tobei to protect their wives. Genjuro becomes worried for Myagi, and they head back so she can stay and protect their son, he continues on ahead with Tobei and Ohama.

While in the city, Genjuro sells his pottery fairly soon to a mysterious beautiful woman known as Lady Wakasa (Machiko Kyo), meanwhile Tobei has run off when he sees a samurai, and follows him on. Ohama tries to stop him, but she is left behind. After witnessing a samurai cut off the head of a famous general, Tobei kills him from behind and takes the head for his own glory. He is then given his glory of samurai with armor and a horse, but after he and some soldiers stop in a brothel, he is shocked to find Ohama working there as a prostitute; earlier after Tobei abandoned her, she was attacked and raped by a group of soldiers.

Meanwhile Genjuro has become enamored by Lady Wakasa, she prompts him to come to her castle, where he is seduced by her. She is in fact a ghost who has mesmerized Genjuro as if he were in a dream, his reality being altered. Meanwhile, we cut back to Myagi, hiding with her child in her village, trying to escape from soldiers.

"Ugetsu" follows the same wavelength as many of Mizoguchi's films, in the way it depicts women as victims especially in the instance where men are the primary decision makers. Genjuro and Tobei are able to follow their ambitions and temptations without any thought of consequence. Both Myagi and Ohama are seen as level headed women, what they say makes good sense. Myagi in particular is the loyal wife, who questions what her husband does, but she is dutiful in following him even if it might not be the best idea to leave his wife and child alone to fend for themselves.

Although the film is technically a fable with supernatural elements, the core story seems very real, and the tragic consequences are heartbreaking. This is mostly due to Mizoguchi's humanistic point of view of his characters; he treats them like real people in real situations, we see Genjuro being seduced by a ghost and in a dream state., but we know far away Myagi is in a very real world of war and poverty. When Genjuro finally is released from the Lady Wakasa's castle, he returns to the real world in shambles, being accused as a thief and losing all of his money.

You sense that Mizoguchi has a deep sympathy with these sort of people who are bereft of riches and must live in war and poverty, it's no wonder the men dream of bigger things for themselves and their family. It is after all established that what Genjuro and Tombei are doing to somewhat selfish, but they are also doing it to show their wives they can be bigger men than what they are. They simply do not realize their wives love them as they are already; Genjuro thinks that he can impress Myagi with fancy cloth, but he does not understand when she says that the cloth means less than his love for her.

But this is also a beautiful dream like film, that seems to float as if it's all a dream. Take the scenes with Lady Wakasa which Mizoguchi films mostly in shadows, framing the mysterious house like a gothic castle. Japanese architecture seems to be made for filmmaking with its use of sliding door frames, and boxed in rooms, Mizoguchi seems to move the camera throughout these rooms very serpent like that seems forbidding, but also enticing.

But it's really the way Mizoguchi uses the camera to give off an emotional response that makes him such a master. There is a shot near the end of the film where Genjuro comes home to Myagi that is quite simply the most elating, and heartbreaking shot in all of film. Without giving much away, I would just say that a shot such as this that can restore faith in film as a great artform, and it could not be achieved without the right movement of the camera, the atmosphere of the scene, and the performances, they all seem to come together perfectly in a symphonic way; a transcendence that can only be felt when at the hands of a master.

When talking about Kenji Mizoguchi, I only regret not knowing more about him; I know him from his films, which are mostly unfortunately unavailable. For its part, Criterion has released seven of his films, all of which are worth seeing, the other titles along with "Ugetsu" are "Osaka Elegy", "The Sisters of Gion", "Women of the Night", "The Life of Oharu", "Sansho the Baliff", and "Streets of Shame". Each film is insightful, heartbreaking, and beautiful. I predict more titles to be released by Mizoguchi soon, and hopefully like Ozu, a re-evaluation of his films are on the horizon. It was said that Mizoguchi dedicated his life to his art, a constant perfectionist who demanded no less from the people he worked with; what a shame it would be to miss his work, or to see it fade away.

The Best Films of 2013....So Far

We are on the 7th month of the year, so we're nicely past the midway point in the film going season. Before you know it, September will come along with the Toronto Film Festival and a whole bunch of Oscar hopefuls that will just be as packed as this summer season seems to be. I've been heading to the movie theatre on a regular basis seeing as much as possible. Once again, my handicap is living in a city that isn't always prone to get the smaller indie or foreign films, although there is the odd one that has made it here. This year, I'm also keeping track of older films I've been seeing for the first time, so I thought I would share a list from both camps. So here is my top five films I've seen so far from 2013 which I would urge you to see if you haven't already.

1. Before Midnight Hands down, the most fully realized film I've seen all year. The continuing saga of Richard Linklater's romance in the real world that started with "Before Sunrise" followed by "Before Sunset". Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play Jesse and Celine who never seem to run out of things to talk about. "Before Midnight" is probably the darkest of the series of films thus far, and that's because Linklater's reluctance to set us up with cliches, Jesse and Celine are real people who are completely in love and perfect for eachother, but that doesn't mean they don't have their problems. The films have become wiser as the characters have grown older, the first film was like an ode to young love, the second film saw the same two people nine years later full of regret for not having gotten together in the first place. This latest film we see the two living together with children and in love but still unsatisfied. Each film builds more and more, it's a brilliant experiment you don't normally see in movies.

2. The Great Gatsby Purists may take issue to Baz Luhrman's adaption of what is arguably the greatest book of the twentieth century. Luhrman does simplify the book and the character of Gatsby somewhat, however, I didn't think it diminished the pure energy and visual splendor of the film itself. I've had issues with Luhrman's films before, and I don't think this is perfect, but it was entertaining, and Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his best performances as Gatsby along with Tobey McGuire. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I was enthralled with Luhrman's vision.

3. Mud Director Jeff Nichols is one of the most interesting indie filmmakers around, I was completely enthralled with his first film "Shotgun Stories" which introduced me for the first time to the unique and talented Michael Shannon. "Mud" can be best described as a Southern Gothic coming of age story. Matthew McConaughey plays the mysterious title character which is surely one of his best performances. Mud lives on a small island where he befriends two young boys who agree to help him seek out the love of his life Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), but it's much more complicated than that. For about two thirds of this story, it's perfect, but it begins to get overstuffed and convoluted near the end, but I've never seen McConaughey ever better, in what is my favorite performance so far this year, and Nichols is a gifted filmmaker, I look forward to more of his films in the future.

4. Iron Man 3 Perhaps the first super hero movie that also seems to be commenting on super hero movies. Robert Downey Jr. made the right move by bringing on Shane Black to co-write and direct this latest installment in the series. You can see the filmmakers taking glee in twisting around our expectations for this version, and despite another overstuffed climax, it succeeds in being one of the more original movies of its kind, I even found it more entertaining and wittier than "The Avengers".

5. The Lone Ranger Very similar in tone as "Iron Man 3", as it plays with expectations and isn't subservient to its genre trappings. What we get is more of a comedy disguised as a blockbuster western, not many people saw it that way, and critics have unfairly attacked it. And really look at what Gore Verbinski is doing as a director, he brings in nice surreal elements into the mix and at times fills the screen with vast landscapes. It's a trippy weird western, but so was "Rango" which Verbinski also directed and people seemed to have loved that. The finale is more exciting and visually impressive than most blockbusters which relied too much on video game like effects or 9/11 imagery for their climaxes (I'm looking at you "Man of Steel" and "Star Trek"). Plus Armie Hammer has fun winking at the audience, while Johnny Depp seems to have the shadow of Buster Keaton on his face.

Other films worth mentioning, the best horror film I've seen in awhile was surprisingly the remake or reboot or whatever of "The Evil Dead" which has a very clever and bloody ending, "The Heat" is by far the funniest most humane comedy in a very underwhelming year so far for comedies, and Guillermo Del Torro's "Pacific Rim" is solid popcorn entertainment in the most old fashioned way, however it doesn't come close to his masterpiece "Pan's Labyrinth".

And now for my list of older films that I have viewed for the first time this year. Here are my top five

1. The Life of Oharu Director Kenji Mizoguchi is often compared with Ozu and Kurosawa as one of Japan's masters. Not many of his films are available, I have only seen a few. "The Life of Oharu" is one of the most devastating films I have ever seen in all my life, it's an instant masterpiece in my mind, it's been awhile since I've seen a film that has affected me quite like this has. The story is of a Japanese girl who comes from a noble family, but is banished from her place in society after she falls in love with a commoner. She is then sold by her father to become a courtesan, and the film follows her life as she is reduced to a middle aged prostitute. Mizoguchi was a master at camera placement and movements, the last few moments of this film are ones I will not forget, a profoundly sad but moving film that deserves a place along with all the greats.

2. MacBeth (1948) Orson Welles has been taken for granted for a long time, isn't it time his films deserve the type of treatment reserved for most masterpieces not just "Citizen Kane". His version of Shakespeare's "MacBeth" is a visual feast, all the more impressive in that he made it in Replublic Pictures, a film company mostly known for B-movie westerns. Welles had little time, and a small budget, but he creates a compact masterpiece with this film. To save time, he recorded the voices of the actors which were dubbed over their lines, Welles even dubbed in some bit parts with his own voice. The tragedy of Welles' filmography is how incomplete his films all were, yet you don't really notice it, "Macbeth" is one of his overlooked films that deserves a reevaluation, now if all his other films can be properly released like this one has.

3. Heaven Can Wait Ernst Lubitsch's twilight comedy is everything you should expect from him. The story of a life long philanderer who arrives at the devil's office after his death pleading his case that he belongs in hell. The story is full of wit and sentiment that is sorely lost in movies today, of all the films I've seen this year, "Heaven Can Wait" fills me with the most nostalgia of the type of movies they don't make anymore.

4. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp One of the most famous and notorious films ever to come from Britain, from the famous Archers Powell/Pressburger, it tells the long tale of Colonel Clive Candy (Roger Livesey, a jovial, and principled officer who reflects on his life with the women he was in love with (three, all of whom are played by Deborah Kerr)and his lifelong friendship with a German officer (Anton Walbrook). This film is one of a kind, not quite a comedy, not quite a drama, and not quite a war story, but like "Heaven Can Wait", it's full of nostalgia of a simpler time, in this case, before the Nazi's took over. It's gorgeously photographed in wonderful technicolor.

5. Design for Living Another Lubitsch title, this one done in the hay day of the pre-code era, a fun, sexy comedy about two men (Gary Cooper and Frederich March) in love with the same women (Miriam Hopkins), and the gentlemen's agreement they make with eachother. This films was years ahead of its times, and something that Hollywood wouldn't even attempt today. It was adapted by Noel Coward and oozes sophistication, testament to the greatness of Lubitsch and his immaculate touch he had on his material.