39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sensitive Love Story, August 28, 2004
Marlon Brando stars in "Sayonara," a 1957 love story based on the James Michener novel that tackles the issue of interracial romance. Brando plays a Major in the Air Force stationed in Korea, who also happens to be the son of a big-shot General and is wooing the daughter (played by Patricia Owens) of a Lt. General. When one of the men under his command (Red Buttons) declares his intentions of marrying a Japanese woman (Miyoshi Umeki), Brando tries to talk him out of it. When Brando and Buttons are transferred to Japan, Brando re-ignites his relationship with his girlfriend who is living there with her family. However, he also starts to realize that he's never explored what he actually wants in life - everything has been dictated by his family and social position. He then surprises even himself when he is attracted to a mysterious Japanese dancer, played by Miiko Taka.
"Sayonara" is surprisingly effective, both as a romance and as an "issues" movie; it really stands up better than most "issues" movies of its time. Most of the reason is because of the superb acting; Buttons and Umeki won Oscars for their supporting roles. In addition, Brando gives an under-stated, sensitive performance in his Oscar-nominated role. Fortunately, the outstanding acting allows the audience to believe Brando's transformation as well as the relationships that form, which is crucial for this film. Director Joshua Logan also does great work here, especially as he's best known for rather over-heated, unsubtle movies such as "Bus Stop" and "Picnic." The cinematography is exquisite and the segments in the Japanese theaters are wonderfully staged. Although "Sayonara" is a bit on the long side and probably could have used some editing, it's a first-class drama. Highly recommended.
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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful story..., August 30, 2001
When I was a teenager, James Michner was publishing his early books, "Fires of Spring" "Tales from the South Pacific" "Bridges at Toko-Ri" "Sayonara" "Until They Sail" and "Hawaii." I saved my allowance and bought all these books, and though I've traveled extensively and moved many times, I've hung onto them. They affected my life more than anything else I've read, and they point to the fact that the issues so often seen as "arising" in the 1960s (racism, sexism, pacifism) were really issues in the 1950s.
Sayonara stars Marlon Brando as Major Lloyd Gruber, a U.S. Air Force field officer stationed in Japan, who is destined to follow in his father's footsteps and become one of the "joint chiefs" if he plays his cards right. Toward that end, his father does not want him to do anything to jeopardize his career--especially the unthinkable--marry "indigeous personnel" as the Japanese were called in U.S. occupied Japan. Lloyd is to marry a young woman who is the daughter of a fellow senior officer. I won't tell you how the story develops but just say the book and the film are different.
James Michener was in the Navy and he married a Japanese woman. He went on to teach English in Texas and put together a handsome collection of Japanese prints when they were inexpensive. Michener never forgot his WWII experiences and he captured them in his books. In the fifties, military personnel began to marry War Brides as they were called. By the 1960s when I was a Marine officer's wife, many of my fellow wives were from foreign countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. I did not understand why the U.S. had race problems since the military was so well integrated--at least in base housing.
One of the most touching sights I recall from those days was the Japanese wives leaving the PX theater in tears after the showing of Sayonara, which was playing in military theaters 20 years after it opened. This is a beautiful film, and shows a Japan that is still recovering from the aftermath of war, but nevertheless beautiful. It is difficult to understand how the people who created the tea ceremony could also have produced such fierce warriors. It's important to remember that Sayonara takes place a mere 8 years after the end of WWII. The Bataan Death March and other atrocities were still pretty fresh, and yet the American public loved this film and loved Michener's books. Their response says much about their ability to forgive.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Watch it for this one scene, if nothing else., May 19, 2004
I was seven years old when this movie came out in 1957, but I had never heard of it until one day recently I accidentally caught the end of it on FLIX. I have since watched it over and over -- something I rarely do with any film. Others I have asked also had never heard of it.
This film is undeserving of such obscurity; it's a wonderful movie that just captivates me. But there's one scene in this film that is a high example of the filmmaker's art. This scene, in its perfection, is the most powerfully romantic movie scene I have ever beheld. Even after watching it many times, it still leaves me shaking! Wow! This scene transcends story telling with film; it is literature.
It evokes something from Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert), or Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy). That is to say, the scene portrays something vital about the human experience. At least it does for me; but then, I admit I'm a sucker for stories of love between American men and Asian women.
The scene to which I refer is when Lloyd Gruver (Marlon Brando) encounters Hana-ogi in Joe Kelly's (Red Buttons) house. It begins when he opens the sliding door and sees her kneeling, erect, serene, and dignified, waiting for him to arrive. If not on the first watching, then on the second, fourth, or eleventh watching, one will become aware that the lighting, the sound, the furnishings of the room, her hair, her kimonos, her makeup (especially her painted lips) are all perfect. What an ambiance! What a setting for a man and a woman to fall in love!
Gruver is immediately struck by her presence; this is plain to see. Nevertheless, he recovers his usual demeanor and proceeds to try to make small talk, his mind and body regarding this lovely creature with respect and admiration, but also lust. She just sits there, regarding him without moving, without even blinking, betraying no thoughts or emotions. His discomfort rises.
Then, when it is time and not before, she begins to speak. She speaks word of deep humanity, compassion, wisdom, and sincerity. The power of her words is greatly enhanced by the quiet dignity with which she speaks them. Gruver is dumbfounded, and Brando plays this role very well. You can see on his face (Flaubert or Tolstoy would have painted the picture with words) that his life, unexpectedly, has just been bifurcated. There is now the life before this encounter, and what will come after. He can never again be the same man -- he can never again regard women the same; Hana-ogi is a new paradigm. He never looked for such a thing before, because he never imagined such a woman or such a feeling could exist.
Some people continue to insist such love themes are racist. That is absurd. It is the antithesis of racism. This is the profoundest love flourishing in spite of different races and cultures, and the inevitable perils incumbent with this relationship in this place at this time. This is love between a man and a woman, as unfettered by affectations and expectations as love can be. This is the raw, real thing, and this film tells this tale, exquisitely done.
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