Zangiki monogatari
JPN 142m Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi
Set in Japan in 1885, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum is about Kiku, the adopted son of a famous Kabuki theatre actor who is training to follow his father's illustrious career. Everyone lauds him because of his father and only servant Otoku actually tells him he could do with improving. Kiku is struck by Otoku's honesty and kindness and falls for her but the relationship is not approved by the family. Kiku is forced to struggle between his desire to be a successful actor or to have a life with Otoku- it seems he cannot have both.
In simple terms this is a story of forbidden love though it feels unique in the way that story is told within the Kabuki theatre world. It's scenario may be very specific but actually this is a story that echoes across the planet throughout history as lovers have dealt with similar issues. It's a really tragic tale as Kiku has both of his desires at various points but never at the same time.
Kenji Mizoguchi's direction here is really interesting. He never shows a close-up of his actors, indeed he generally has them a little distance from the camera. This framing means you really notice the wider setting and the mise-en-scene is excellent, really adding a realism to these scenes. There's also lots of long takes, often six minutes or more, as two or more characters have long conversations.
This all comes together to make it feel like you are watching a stage play, which kind of feels appropriate given that the film is set around the world of theatre. It's done really cleverly though- often plays that are adapted into film end up feeling really static but Mizoguchi uses the camera and lots of dolly shots to add some movement. Somehow it manages both capture the intimacy of a stage play with the kinetical energy of cinema.
A really beautiful film in every way, from the way it's shot to the emotion in the story.
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