Review #976 - Harakiri (1962)
THE SCOOP
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita
Plot: An elder ronin samurai arrives at a feudal lord's home and requests an honorable place to commit suicide. But when the ronin inquires about a younger samurai who arrived before him things take an unexpected turn.
Genre: Drama
Awards: Won Jury Prize (Cannes).
Runtime: 133min
Rating: PG for some disturbing scenes.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“What
befalls others today, may be your own fate tomorrow.”
A
samurai about to commit seppuku, or ritual suicide, sits in an open courtyard
in the middle of a clan house and tells a story to all who are willing to
listen. He is surrounded by armed
samurais who are there to witness his death, perhaps too eager to do so. They are impatient and want the ritual to be done
neatly and quickly. But Hanshiro
(Tatsuya Nakadai) the lone samurai continues to tell his story. This goes on for the bulk of the entire film,
and you might wonder: is this really a samurai picture?
Yes
it is, and by many counts, one of the most accomplished in its sub-genre,
albeit an unconventional work that still remains less well-known than the
swordfighting epics such as Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961)
and Sanjuro (1962).
Directed
by the underappreciated Masaki Kobayashi (The Human Condition trilogy, 1959 – 1961; Kwaidan,
1964; Samurai Rebellion, 1967), Harakiri contains no elements of
swordfighting until the very end, which is spectacularly staged. Yet for the preceding two hours, we are
engaged by the storytelling involved, both of the film, and by Hanshiro.
Through
flashbacks that create drama and intrigue, Kobayashi expertly gives meaning to
the filmic present by recalling the past.
There's a hidden tale, bleak and tragic, forced out of one's quest to
right a wrong. The relentless agency of
the individual against a corrupt authority is what powers Harakiri, which inevitably also functions as a political statement
against authoritarianism.
The
cinematography is purposeful, always centering on the lead actor, thus creating
a space both physical and psychological, for Hanshiro to function as the bearer
of injustice and action. The
swordfighting in the climax illustrates a desperate struggle to make a
statement, even if death is certain as it is seemingly secondary to the gravity
of past (in)action and present consequence.
The
haunting music by Toru Takemitsu (Ran,
1985), in particular the use of Japanese-styled string plucking, creates an
ominous mood that adds dramatic tension to the proceedings. Kobayashi's measured ability to visually
unwind (or rewind) the narrative proves to be sustaining – it never fades away
because the story is simply too engrossing.
Recently,
Takashi Miike adapted the novel that Harakiri
was based on with Harakiri: Death of a
Samurai (2011), which was in competition at Cannes. Is it as powerful as Kobayashi's work? Well, I haven't had the chance to see Miike's
version, so I'm in no position to do a comparison. But this I can say about the 1962 version: it is movie storytelling at its finest, and a
must-see for any film enthusiast.
GRADE: A
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