Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters (1985)

On November 25, 1970, the acclaimed Japanese writer Yukio Mishima (Ken Ogata) sets out with four members of his private army to a garrison of the Japanese Armed Forces and takes a General hostage with the hope of encouraging the soldiers to join him in his mission to reinstate the Emperor as the nation's sovereign. It will be the last day of his life. Co-written and directed by Paul Schrader (AMERICAN GIGOLO), this film is a unique examination of the life and work of the celebrated author Yukio Mishima, perhaps best known to western audiences for THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA. Schrader divides the film in three parts: the present, the past which is told in B&W flashbacks and three dramatizations of Mishima's books (TEMPLE OF THE GOLDEN PAVILLION, KYOKO'S HOUSE, RUNAWAY HORSES). The film focuses on Mishima's obsession with male beauty and perfection and his increasing right wing nationalism. The visuals courtesy of John Bailey (ORDINARY PEOPLE) are breathtaking especially the vivid hues of the stylized Mishima stories and there's a terrific underscore by Philip Glass (THE HOURS). It's an imaginative and audacious film examining a very complex and controversial figure. Reputedly, the film has never been shown theatrically in Japan to this day, mostly because of the homosexual inference to Mishima's sexual orientation (denied by his widow despite evidence to the contrary). A must see film. With Yasosuke Bando, Kenji Sawada, Toshiyuki Nagashima and Reisen Lee.