Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters 4K 1985 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

November 25, 1970. The famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima got up early in the morning, put on his military uniform, and, along with fellow members of the Shield Society, went to the Self-Defense Forces ground forces base in Ichigaya to urge soldiers to stage a coup d'état. Along the way, Mishima recalls his life and its influence on his works.

Review 4K Movie

I admit, I tried watching this film once, but turned it off after about ten minutes. I didn't think the lead actor was right for the role, and besides, I'm not a big fan of 80s cinema.

Everything is relative, and after watching Koji Wakamatsu's horribly one-sided biopic, I remembered Schroeder's film.

It was amazing!

The “documentary” component (more precisely, the part showing Mishima's last hours) didn't really impress me. I don't know why, because the actor seems to be suitable for the role and the events are accurately reproduced, but it doesn't grab you. The other actors playing Yukio are perfectly cast, especially the twelve-year-old boy.

But what really captivated me about the film were the “theatrical” inserts of Mishima's own stories. What a subtle move to tell the story of the author through his own works! (My regret that “The House of Kyoko” has not yet been translated into Russian came back to me with renewed force after watching the film.) Yes, perhaps because of the brevity of the retelling, the meaning of these short stories is perceived in a simplified way or may even be completely incomprehensible, but how subtly the director conveyed their mood! How unobtrusively the writer's eternally restless essence shines through these seemingly disparate, vivid images, like shards of colored glass. The ending of the episode “Carrying Horses” is particularly impressive (what craftsman guessed to translate the title as “Runaway Horses”?)

I think this is the only way to adapt Mishima's work for the screen, because his work itself is a “slap in the face to public taste.” And the slight kitschiness of these scenes only adds to the effect.

My only complaint is the translation, which is rather strange in places. It seems that the people who worked on it had a very vague idea of the subject matter.