Customer Reviews

Patriotism (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On February 26, 1936, a day noted for the thick snow that had fallen, a group of some 1400 soldiers, primarily from the Imperial Japanese Army's First Infantry Division, led by a group of junior army officers influenced by the radical philosopher Kita Ikki, whose philosophy evolved from a socialist to a pro-fascist perspective, attacked prominent members of the Japanese government and even killed a number of them, including Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Saito Makoto. Attempts were also made on the lives of other prominent political figures such as the Japanese Prime Minister Okada Keisuke. The instigators of the Ni-niroku jiken (the February 26th Incident) wanted to eliminate corrupt politicians and to truly put Emperor Hirohito as the center of the nation in order to purify the corruption in its various branches. The uprising received a bit of support when it occurred, but many, including the Emperor himself, saw it as nothing more than an uprising. The event petered out by February 29th and a number of the young officers were executed.

It is this historical backdrop that forms the setting for Mishima Yukio's first and only film that the prominent novelist directed: Yukoku (Patriotism). Lt. Takeyama Shinji, a member of the same group that initiated the February 26th Incident, was not involved in the siege because, unlike most of his compatriots, he is married and his love for his young wife Reiko knows no bounds. However, when he learns that he is to attack his fellows, Takeyama is caught between his loyalty to his fellow young officers and the Emperor. Instead of betraying either, he decides to commit hara-kiri (seppuku, ritual suicide by slitting the belly open), and is overjoyed when he learns that Reiko will follow him into death. What follows is an intense and sensual lovemaking scene and then a gruesome, albeit sensual, depiction of hara-kiri. A scene that will remain in the viewers mind long after the film comes to an end.

Unlike many of his other works which Mishima allowed directors to make filmic adaptations of, the noted novelist, short story writer, playwright, and body builder was reluctant to allow another man to bring Patriotism to the big screen. Instead, he went to producer Fujii Hiroaki who wholeheartedly supported Mishima's desire to direct the film. Instead of using a normal set depicting the shabby home of a low ranking officer, Mishima worked with Noh master Domoto Masaki to create a set that looked like the stage for Noh theatre, including the raised platform and three pine trees covered in cotton snow. The stark whiteness of the set represents the purity within the hearts of Takeyama and his wife Reiko and the purity of the act that they commit.

Mainly intended for a foreign audience, the film was first shown in France and Mishima created scrollwork for the intertitles of the film in English, France, and German, Patriotism was to make Mishima a renowned man around the world. The film did quite well, but after Mishima's suicide in 1970, he committed hara-kiri, legit copies of the film were locked away in a tea cabinet by Mishima's widow, Yoko. But after her death, the film resurfaced and world film audiences can now see this beautifully gory and tragic film by one of Japan's most prominent postwar writers.

Patriotism is an amateur short art film. It was shot on a single set in black and white. Without dialogue, the sound track is a complete and unbroken excerpt from Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde." The subject matter is the ritual suicide of a Japanese army officer and his wife.

I will admit to having a weak stomach. Between the nihilism that passes for entertainment in America today and film buffs who refuse to look away in disgust, we have an entire cinematic culture of violence, epitomized by films I won't even watch like Hostel. Yes, I have a weak stomach, but that doesn't mean I can't tell the difference between a shoot-em-up action flick, a horror film, etc, and it doesn't change the fact that death, pain, and murder are parts of life. Therefore, I find writer/director Mishima confusing and both fascinating and revolting. This has been true ever since I saw "A Life in Four Chapters" in high school and started reading Mishima's work. What do you make of someone who actually conflates sexuality, death, youth, not as a poseur but in his own mind? Aside from Mishima's own suicide, Patriotism is his clearest expression of this tendency. It is appropriately difficult to know what to make of it. The film consists almost entirely of a scene of lovemaking followed by a scene of disembowelment. The actors are attractive and youthful, and the camera lingers over their bodies, as it does eventually over their bloodstains. The film is technically good and affecting, but not enjoyable. It is difficult to watch. Has it expanded my understanding or my artistic appreciation? I'm not sure. I can't recommend it or pan it. It exists out there, and you can choose to look or not. I for one place no value on choosing to look, although I had to myself.

As reviewer Neil Kambeaze points out, Criterion has put together a great package that includes a printed booklet with the original short story in the DVD extras. The short story goes even beyond the film as Mishima attempts to get inside the head of the dying man and explore the experience of pain and death, something more thoroughly done in prose than on screen. I agree with Neil that the short story is stomach churning, and I almost regret reading it.

If you are not a Mishima enthusiast, you might want to skip this one. Also, if you have not seen or read anything of Mishima before, I would definitely not start with Patriotism. Four stars for great packaging and technically well-made film.

Yukio Mishima, one of Japan's greatest writers and artists, made only one film, Patriotism, and our good friends at Criterion have released it in this very reasonably priced edition. The film is only 27 minutes long, and has no dialogue (though it has "written" narration). It's really a striking piece of work, and quite startling at times. It is also very gory and bloody, and can even make today's gorehounds grimace. I think the violence and blood in this film are much more effective is because they actually mean something, as opposed to many films today who seem to push the uncomfortable gore quotient with no reasoning or rhyming behind it. Yukio Mishima was an incredibly prolific, intense, brilliant, convulted, complex, and artistic individual, a man of many faces, masks, illusions, and realities, and this DVD is an absolute must for any of his fans. If you're not a Mishima fan, you should still rent/buy this disc, as you may become one. The film deals with many Mishima themes, that of patriotism, loyalty, the code of the Samurai, loyalty, modern vs. feudal Japan, etc., and the film is really quite good. It's staged on a Noh stage, which gives it a very distinct feel. If it was done in a realistic manner, it would have been immensely boring, but Mishima makes good choices by filming it in this manner.

Granted, this film is not the greatest of Mishima's artistic output (that is his Sea of Fertility tetraology), but it's still absolutely fascinating and holds up quite well today. The music in the film is a bit overdone, but as the film progresses, one adjusts and it becomes less intrusive. The DVD also includes snippets of Mishima interviews, and it's absolutely brilliant stuff. Where many "artists/writers" give interviews today and say very little, Mishima encompasses worlds in the few words he says. His talk about death, heroism, heroic deaths, politics, etc., etc. are very provocative and still valid today. He certainly wasn't shy about expressing his opinions, but as many people shout to express their opinions, Mishima's opinions are ones that mattre and really make one think on a deeper level. There is also a 45 minute documentary on the making of Patriotism, with the original crew and producer assembled. They reminisce about the making of the film (which only took 2 days to film), and how Mishima was pretty well organised for a first time director. It's a very good companion piece to the film. This is a great DVD for any Mishima fan, and for any fan of Japanese and world cinema.

What can I say about this short film? It's 27 minutes of some of the most amazing filming I have seen.

The Criterion version has an 'English Version' in which the scrolls are replaced with English words. It doesn't really affect the actual film... but I still viewed the Japanese version in which captions translate the wording.

The extras are amazing. There are two interviews with Mishima from around this time which are just plain eerie. He discusses Japan's defeat in the war and what that meant to him as well as his views on death. Again... just eerie. There are also several blocks of an audio only Q&A session by the Foreign press in which Mishima answers in very good English. There is one more interview with the surviving crew from the filming.

The film itself is gut wrenching (literally). Filming in black and white was the right choice. The set is arranged in a Noh theater style with sparse settings and stylized touches (such as the snow on the tree). Mishima actually provides a great performance. His Co-star Yoshiko Tsuruoka is also very good.

There is a bit of a graphic moment where Mishima actually opens his belly, but I couldn't Not watch. It's kind of gruesome, but being in black and white gives it the appearance of ink, and as it stretches on the floor like a spilled inkwell.

Even if Mishima had not committed Seppuku later in his life, this film would still be haunting and mesmerizing. The fact that Mishima visited the same fate several years later only adds to the shock of this film.

Also of note: this film was lost and all surviving copies ordered destroyed my Mishima's widow. This copy was found in a tea cellar in 2005 and luckily Criterion got the thumbs up to restore and release it. Something with this much power and magnitude deserves to be preserved and viewed by generations to come.

Forget all the other stuff - this is film making at its' best. Wonderfully conceived, beautifully filmed. I only wish that we had directors today that could put as much passion and story telling on the screen with such economy. Essential viewing for any student of film and any aspiring screenwriter, DP or director.

"Patriotism", Yukio Mishima's short film from 1960's Japan is the dismal account of the honorable suicide of a Japanese army lieutenant and his wife in the aftermath of a failed military coup. The lieutenant, played by Mishima himself, is a perfect patriot, relinquishing his life and the life of his pretty young wife to avoid killing his co-conspirators in the failed coup. The young couple share a last night of sexual intimacy before carrying out their suicide pact.

This film is a landmark in cinemat. Aside from being a remarkable political film, quite outlandish in concept and execution for a film made in Japan at this time, "Patriotism" is also a sort of an artistic rehearsal for writer/actor/director Yukio Mishima's actual seppuku in November, 1970. Much like the lieutenant in "Patriotism", Mishima was part of a resistance movement protesting political changes in power. He gave a speech on the balcony of the Tokyo headquarters of the Eastern Command of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, and when it failed to inspire a return of power to the emperor, Mishima commited ritual seppuku. In addition to "Patriotism", Mishima had several other films, poems and works of fiction dedicated to the subject of honorable suicide at the time of his actual seppuku.

Mishima's suicide was indirectly responsible for the film retaining such sharp visual clarity in spite of its age. After his death, his widow ordered all copies of the film destroyed. She felt no need to relive her husband's suicide again and again, and kept only one copy of the film sealed in an air-tight tea container. For several decades, the film lingered mostly as a myth, kept alive by copies of copies passed around Arthouse Film circles. Upon Mishima's widow's death in 2005, the mint-condition print of the film was unearthed. Criterion wasted no time wrapping up this gem and packaging it for mass consumption. The Criterion package includes the new, gorgeous transfer of the film, interviews with surviving crew members, and a thin book that contains Mishima's original short story.

I am a big fan of Criterion's bonus features. Whenever appropriate, they include the literary basis for the film in the film's packaging. For "Patriotism" Criterion included the entire text of the original short story. I cannot understate this enough: "Patriotism" the short story is WAY harder to read than the movie is to watch. Watching Yukio Mishima realistically play-act suicide is not as bad as having the experience described in the first person. While the movie is very visceral, it is softened and given meaning by soft classical music and tender cinematography. The short story is brutal and unflinching. I had to take breaks from reading it to let my stomach settle, and I'm the kind of guy who watches films like "Cannibal Holocaust" regularly. It's easily as intense as anything Chuck Palahniuk has written, and predates his nihilist stylings by 30-40 years. If you get this movie, you owe it to yourself to read the short story. It's a unique experience. You can read the text of the short story for free at: [...]

All in all, "Patriotism" is one of the best Criterion treatments of a classic arthouse film yet. The film, the transfer, the special features and the packaging are all top-notch and make "Patriotism" a worthy addition to any DVD library.

If you are a Mishima fan, of which I would say I am an on-again off-again kind of guy, this is an incredible film to see. Even if you aren't, "Patriotism" is one of the more compelling depictions of violence put to screen.

Obviously, if you know anything about Yukio Mishima's life that will color your viewing of "Patriotism." But I think it is important to see this as a film from 1966 and encapsulating the fetishistic mindset of a monomaniacal artist and his lifelong obsession. I personally have always found Mishima's writing to be the very definition of tedious, but at the same time compelling in its attention to detail. This film is similar in that it isolates its narrative and savors each moment of its dramatic development. But even more, I do think that Mishima tapped into some of the deepest emotions of Japanese tragedy and "Patriotism" is a very powerful film for it.

Criterion has released this disc more or less in conjunction with their reissue of Paul Schrader's biopic "Mishima". Nothing could make me happier as I intensely dislike that cloying film. It is a cafe-culture charade which apes this work at every step and fails miserably. Yukio Mishima was in his own way a purist and that comes through in this short film. He might have wound up being a better filmmaker than writer.

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film

Patriotism, released as Yukoku in Japan, is film written and directed by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.

The film depicts the seppuku, or ritual suicide, of an army officer that foreshadows the real life seppuku of Mishima a decade later.

All prints of the film were destroyed at the request of Mishima's widow, but the original camera negative was saved. This release is quite impressive as it is a film that quite possible would never have seen the light of day again, if not for the only existing copy being saved.

This edition contains both the English and Japanese intertitled versions, plus a documentary on the film's production, and interviews with Yukio Mishima.

This is a must-buy film for those interested in Japanese literature and film.