Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:
Total Movies Watched: 30
Total First Time Views: 15
Amount raised for BOXVILLE: $3,132,30
Yumeji (1991) d. Seijin Suzuki (Japan) (128 min) (1st viewing)
A most unusual ghost story, this final chapter in Suzuki’s Taisho Trilogy is at first glance a biopic about painter and poet Yumeji Takehisa (Kenji Sawada), yet ends up being far less concerned with realistic depictions of the artist’s life and more with exploring the elusive boundaries between man and woman, life and death, objectification and obsession. Takehisa’s relationships, specifically those with three women, highlight key elements of human nature, and Suzuki applies his painterly vision to nearly every frame, weaving a hypnotic spell that lingers in the heart even as the images ebb and flow through the mind.
As the film opens, our titular protagonist dreams of engaging in a fatal duel (highlighting the preoccupation with his own mortality) and a mysterious woman whose face is always hidden, turned away from him, untouchable. His fiancee Hikono (Masumi Miyazaki) has delayed their elopement, and in his travels to a neighboring town, he encounters the widow Tomoyo (Tomoko Mariya) and immediately falls madly in love with her, aching to have her pose for him in order that he can possess her in some small way.
Yumeji also learns of her husband’s (Yoshio Harada) unfortunate fate, that of being murdered by a notorious roaming killer (Kazuhiko Hasegawa), which makes his reappearance as a wandering spirit all the more disconcerting – this ghost eats, drinks, plays cards, and proves to be a most worthy foil for Tomoyo’s attentions.
Dramatically, the unhurried pace will likely prove challenging for some viewers (guilty as charged), especially when the more fantastic elements are dealt with in such a banal, matter-of-fact manner. Except of the existential sort, there are no real scares to be had, but that’s not to say this isn’t a fascinating cinematic exercise in and of itself.
The director, working closely alongside famed cinematographer Junichi Fujisawa, delivers some astonishing vignettes that exploit light and shadow and color to their fullest, and the photogenic cast (most of whom appear in the altogether at some point) are lively and engaging throughout.
More art-house than haunted house, Yumeji’s non-traditional handling of supernatural elements will not be to everyone’s liking, but for those in the mood for something different will certainly find it here.
BONUS FEATURES:
Video essay by critic Tony Rayns (24 min)
Making-of featurette (10 min)
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork choices
Yumeji is available now on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy as part of their Taisho Trilogy and can be ordered HERE:
https://mvdshop.com/products/seijun-suzukis-the-taisho-trilogy-blu-ray
No comments:
Post a Comment