This blog entry is part of my "movie recommendation site suggestions". Read more about that here.
Sanshô dayû (Sansho the Bailiff)
This film and Mizoguchi's Ugetsu often get mentioned in arguments about which films are the amongst the absolute greatest ever made. Although preference seems to be somewhat more often given to Ugetsu. That is my preference as well, although Sansho a great work to me.
The story is based on a short story per out on the earlier 1900s and was based on several other accounts that has been passed down by oral tradition in Japan for centuries. Mizoguchi made some changes for the cinema and to make some comments on his own concerns about current society.
Tragedy, tragedy, tragedy is what you get here. The scene on the boat (you'll know which one I mean if you've seen it) is amongst the most heart wrenching scenes in cinema. And the scen on the boat in Ugetsu is maybe the creepiest and most memorable from that film as well. Something about Mizoguchi and scenes with small boats makes for some memorable cinema.
It's hard for me to decide whether these films are filled with a great hope behind all of the tragedy or if they are painting an utterly tragic world. I guess that struggle to be confused to identify hope even when it might be right in front of us is prevalent in this world. I do see it in this world though, so I try to see it in these beautiful films as well.
Rating: 9/10