Yup. It’s a fun French romance. Boy meets Girl. Girls wants to be Commando. Won a bunch of awards at Cannes and the Cesars, including the Best Actress Cesar for the gorgeous and talented Adele Haenel.
“After all, this thing we call samurai honor is ultimately nothing but a facade.”
Reasons to Watch Kobayashi’s Harakiri, without Spoilers:
The last film got me thinking about what passes for “made a buzz at Cannes” these days.
Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 masterpiece “made a buzz” at Cannes in 1962, but only won the Special Jury prize because another little film beat it out for the Palm d’Or.
I say masterpiece, though The Human Condition competes very closely with this film, though you have to watch all three parts (9 hours). Quite the commitment required there.
Harakiri displays how any system based on a code of honor is ultimately, inevitably subject to venal interests. No systems may be counted upon. Only individuals. Not for the faint of heart.
As well, the film also serves as is an allegory of the Harakiri of of the Japanese nation in the march to and through the Second World War.
Not bad for “making a buzz at Cannes”.
Tatsuya Nakadai may have given his greatest performance in this film (he certainly thought so), though he’s given some fantastic performances in others (Seven Samurai,Yojimbo, High and Low, Samurai Rebellion, The Sword of Doom, Kagemusa, Ran, & etc., etc, etc.).
As well, crisp. unrelenting Cinematography. If Kurasawa aspired at one time to be John Ford, I think sometimes that Kobayashi channeled Sam Fuller with Greg Toland at the camera. But he is uniquely Kobayashi.
Well, that went fast! I was expecting that to take a bit longer.
Yes it is Victoria, aka the 2+hour single-shot film. I liked the movie alright, but I must admit the single-shot thing is really impressive from a formal filmmaking perspective and overshadows the narrative itself a bit. Still, very worth seeing.
Those Laia Costa cheekbones are just unmistakable. I honestly completely forgot about the single shot gimmick while watching the movie and got caught up in the narrative. Unfortunately that narrative leaves behind the impressionistic beginning for some predictable thriller tropes later on, but it’s told with enough pace and excellent acting by Costa and Lau that I didn’t mind until reexamining the film later. A little light weight on closer inspection, but I enjoyed the viewing experience tremendously.