Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #34: Sansho the Bailiff, 1954

"Without mercy, man is like a beast. Even if you are hard on yourself, be merciful to others."

Sansho the Bailiff, 1954
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Writers: Fuji Yahiro and Yoshikata Yoda, from a short shory by Ogai Mori
Cinematographer: Kazuo Miyagawa
Producer: Masaichi Nagata for the Daiei Motion Picture Co.
Starring: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô

Why I chose it
I had yet to include a Japanese film in this series, and the 1950s was a fertile decade for exquisite offerings from Japanese filmmakers such as Ozu and Kurosawa. In fact, Seven Samarai (Kurosawa) was released this year, as was Godzilla (Ishirô Honda). I had seen those, but but hadn't seen anything by Mizoguchi. Sansho the Bailiff appeared on many "best of 1954" lists, and with a Criterion release and an 8.2 rating on IMDb, I was excited to watch it.

'No-spoiler' plot overview 
In 11th century Japan, the wife, daughter, and son of a benevolent local governor find themselves on their own when the ruling ministry exiles him. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes when bandits attack, and the mother, Tamaki, is sold into prostitution and the two teenage children, Zushio and Anju, are forced into slavery at the estate of a local feudal chief, the eponymous Sansho, who is cruel and unyielding. The story follows the physical and spiritual journeys of the children as they mature into adults and cope differently with the pain of separation and brutality of slavery. A number of surprising twists ensue as the two attempt to escape and find their long lost parents. 

Production Background
Mizoguchi was already nearing the end of his career when he made this film, and critics have praised it as his crowning achievement, both now and at the time the film was released. In fact, it won the 'Silver Lion' (second place) at the 1954 Venice Film Festival, along with Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. (The Golden Lion that year was awarded to Romeo & Juliet by Renato Castellani). Both Kurosawa's Rashomon (1951) and Sansho the Bailiff benefitted from the sublime cinematographic skills of Kazuo Miyagawa.

While the broad outlines of the tale are based on a famous Japanese folk legend, apparently a number of changes to Mori's short story adaptation were made by Mizoguchi and his screenwriters, including making the daughter Anju younger than her brother Zushio, so they could cast the sublime and popular young actress Kyôko Kagawa in the role. Other changes included the ending, and the lesser focus in the film on Sansho himself, which leads modern viewers to wonder why the film is named after him.

Some other notable film-related events in 1954 (from Filmsite.org):

• Federico Fellini released the classic Italian film La Strada (1954, It.) It won the first official Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, awarded during the Academy Ceremony honoring films of 1956.
• Paramount Studio's first VistaVision widescreen production was director Michael Curtiz's hit film White Christmas (1954), an Irving Berlin musical.
• The "auteur theory" was first rudimentarily expressed by 21-year-old critic/filmmaker Francois Truffaut in his essay in the French film-review periodical Cahiers du Cinema titled "A Certain Tendency in French Cinema."
• Dorothy Dandridge was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first African-American ever nominated in the category, for her role in Carmen Jones (1954). 
• On the Waterfront (1954) nearly swept the Academy Awards with eight wins, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint), and Best Director (Elia Kazan). The acclaimed film was widely perceived as Kazan's response to critics of his testimony two years earlier before the House Un-American Activities Commission (HUAC). 

My Random Observations

• Two "e" words swirled around in my head as I thought about this movie after the final credits rolled: ethereal and elegiac. From the deliberate pacing of the scenes and even the slowness of the character's movements during much of the film, you get the sense of immersion in something you must experience, not just watch. The natural light used by Miyagawa (shot on location in Kyoto and Kashikojima Island) captured a gauzy sheen that made you feel like you were peering into a series of long-buried images. 

Early in the film, a mother, her two children, and her maid 
start their perilous journey through a forest.

In exile, Tamaki approaches the ocean and calls out to
her lost children.

Anju waits to hear the fate of her brother, whom she has 
helped to escape from slavery to Sansho.

Zushio (left) rests on his journey to find his mother.

• Asian cultures and history are far removed from mine, as an American. So when I watched this film, I felt I was taking a lesson in all things Japanese: history, religion, arts, culture, and music. The history, of course, is on two levels: the 11th century setting of the folk tale, and the 20th century interpretation influenced, no doubt, by the ravages of the nation's recent defeat in WWII; I sensed the reverence for and vision of their own history that the Japanese hold. Interestingly, an on-screen commentary at the beginning mentioned that the story takes place in a time in which people had not yet learned to become human. I wonder if Mizoguchi felt that becoming human is in reality a process of evolution that the species has not yet perfected.

  

  A statue of the Buddhist goddess of mercy, given to Zushio
  by his father at the moment of his exile.

  
  

  

  Opening titles in a cloud-infused backdrop sets the mood.

  
  

Ceremony and rank are critical in 11th century Japan.

• I loved how very little of what took place in this film was predictable. Triumph and tragedy were always paired, so that other than the universality of human suffering, there was no time to wallow in either optimism or pessimism in the film. Yet the net effect was profound empathy with these characters.
• While Sansho the Bailiff himself was rather a one-dimensional blustering tyrant, if played well by Eitarô Shindô, the real acting stars were the mother, Kinuyo Tanaka, who had to age prematurely, and her two grown children, played by Yoshiaki Hanayagi and Kyoko Kagawa. All three were terrific, but for me, Hanayagi, as the grown Zushio, was the standout. His character was required to transform from a rebellious young man, to a desperate beggar, to an authoritarian leader; he convinced in each transformation.

Sansho, as played by Eitarô Shindô.

Anju (right) in a moment of decision, conferring with a fellow slave.

Zushio (left) sets his jaw in defiance as his minister warns him 
not to incur the wrath of the overlords.

• The soundtrack of the film, credited to Fumio Hayasaka, Kinshichi Kodera, and Tamekichi Mochizuki, is also worth spending time studying. It wove Western-style harmonies with Japanese melodies throughout, and Tamaki's lament for her children appears in many scenes, both as sung by her, and as a background musical motif at key moments, is transporting. Listen to the opening theme here.

Where to Watch
DVDs are available from Criterion and the Masters of Cinema labels, and the film can currently be streamed on The Criterion Channel, on YouTube here, and is available to rent via Amazon Video and Apple TV.

Further Reading
For a fascinating exploration of mid-century Japanese cinema, Mizoguchi's place in it, and the layered themes of the film, go here.