mishima

Mishima: a life in four chapters – I just finished watching this film by Richard Schrader and it is excellent - it is the story of Mishima Yukio a Japanese writer and right wing activist that committed suicide “seppuku” in 1970 in a very public manner. Mishima longed for an imperial Japan and extolled its samurai traditions and ideals of beauty, honor, and nationalism. The film was made in Japan but never released there for political reasons. It is in Japanese with English subtitles and acted by traditional Japanese actors. Partially funded by Japanese investors who later denied any monetary support for the film and Warner Brothers (via Francis ford Coppola and George Lucas). The film is constructed in four parts that chronicle Mishima’s last day and is overlaid with three “stage-like” adaptations of his stories – Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kyoko’s House and Runaway Horses. With production design by Eiko Ishioka and a score by Philip Glass the film is a brilliant work of art - watch it again with Paul Schrader’s insightful commentary.