Paul Schrader’s visually stunning portrait of the legendary Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the internal turmoil and fascinating contradictions of a man who attempted the impossible task of finding harmony among self, art, and society.
Taking place on the last day of Mishima’s life, the film is coloured by extended, often emotive flashbacks to the writer’s past as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works.
With rich cinematography from John Bailey, exquisite, astonishing set and costume design by Eiko Ishioka, and an unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a fittingly striking tribute to its subject and a bold, indelible work of art in its own right.
dir. Paul Schrader
year: 1985
country: USA
run-time: 120 minutes
Rating: 15
Doors 6.45pm
Film 7.15pm
“The most unconventional biopic I’ve ever seen, and one of the best... As unorthodox as Schrader’s approach to Mishima’s life may be, I cannot imagine a better one”
“One of the most gorgeous and sophisticated portraits of an artist ever put on film. Schrader shows art imitating life and vice versa, while ultimately focussing on how this complicated dramatist and novelist consciously strove to unite the two... this movie, a work of art in its own right, is a beauty”
“A daringly original biopic... An exceptional, original movie, ravishingly shot and with a hauntingly brilliant Philip Glass score... Schrader’s obsessive-puritanical philosophising is at its purest here, as he channels his usual concerns into a meditation on Mishima’s tussles with love, death, honour and the spirit.”
“Outstanding in just about every respect... striking, inventive, exciting, and beautiful, both visually and musically... exhilarating and thought-provoking... bring on the art film par excellence”
“A breathless plunge into the creative soul... appropriately monumental filmmaking.”
“A lasting masterpiece”