Patriotism - Criterion Collection
by Yukio Mishima
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Yukio MishimaDirector: Yukio Mishima
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 56 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-07-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Patriotism - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: Defining Love and Honor
Summary: 4 Stars
"Patriotism"
Defining Love and Honor
Amos Lassen
"Patriotism", written, directed and starring Japanese great Yukio Mishima has finally been released in a beautiful edition by Criterion. "Patriotism" (Yukoku) was originally made in 1996 and foreshadowed Mishima's suicide with great artistic vision and a good amount of gore. The movie is the embodiment of Mishima's concerns and skepticism about the growing westernization of Japan. A navel officer and his wife commit suicide in the final act of the film which was shot in black and white thereby giving an eloquence that is captivating. The set is minimal therefore making the contrast beautiful and leading up to the graphic and artistic final act.
Mishima viewed his own life as a work of art and by the time he died at age 45, he wrote 40 novels, 18 plays, 20 books of short stories and over 20 collections of essays. He committed suicide on November 25. 1970 by disembowelment and he united his life with his art.
"Patriotism" is based on a short story that Mishima wrote four years before his death. The Criterion edition contains a new digital transfer of the film which is only 27 minutes long. There is also a documentary on the making of the film, a recording of Mishima speaking to the Foreign Correspondents Organization, an interview with Mishima on love and death. Also included is a booklet with the original short story, an essay by Tony Ryans, critic and historian as well as Mishima's notes on the production of the film.
This is the only film that Mishima ever made and there is no dialog. What we get is a written narrative. The film is striking and startling and even today it is still gory and bloody. The ritualized suicide of a dishonored Japanese patriot is dramatically portrayed and intense. The film hits hard even before the suicide as we are led to think about honor and what being alive means. The film left me shaken for quite a while afterwards and it made me wonder how audiences in 1966 reacted if it affected me this way in 2008. Even though I knew what was going to happen and was prepared for it, so I thought, it most definitely unnerved me.
Summary of Patriotism - Criterion Collection
Playwright and novelist Yukio Mishima predicted his own suicide with this ravishing short feature, his only foray into filmmaking yet directed with the expressiveness and confidence of a true cinema artist. All prints of Patriotism (Yukoku), which depicts the seppuku (ritual suicide) of a naval officer, were destroyed after Mishima's death in 1970, though the negative was saved, and the film resurfaced thirty-five years later. New viewers will be stunned at the depth and clarity of Mishima's vision, as well as his graphic depictions of sex and death. The film is presented here with a choice of Japanese or English intertitles.SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
. New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the Japanese and English versions, with optional Japanese or English intertitles . A 45-minute audio interview with Yukio Mishima speaking to the Foreign Correspondents' Association . A 45-minute making-of documentary, featuring crew from the film's production . Interview excerpts featuring Mishima discussing war and death . New and improved English subtitle translation . PLUS: A new essay by renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns, Mishima's original novella, and Mishima's extensive notes on the film's production
Author Yukio Mishima's fascination with ritual suicide is at the heart of Patriotism, a 1966 short film co-directed by and co-starring Mishima, and based on one of his many short stories. Self-consciously arty and occasionally laughable, the film nevertheless is sensual, emotionally intense, and well-acted. Mishima stars as Lt. Takeyama, a naval officer who supports an attempted coup of his government, but who is barred by fellow officers--his friends--from participation in it because of his love for Reiko (Yoshiko Tsuruoka). When the coup fails, Takeyama is given the task of executing the rebels. Caught between conflicting points of honor, Takeyama opts for seppuku (suicide), which will make Reiko a lonely widow. The couple decides to commit double suicide, with Takeyama going first. Most of the movie finds the two making love with a unique passion and deep bond that will last beyond death. The black-and-white film blankets the lovers in protective shadows while underscoring their passion and desire through the simplest, most economic gestures. Patriotism's eroticism extends, as Mishima would have it, to seppuku itself. Not that Takeyama's self-disembowelment is a pleasure to watch--in fact, it's horrifying and looks rather realistic. Yet it is another act of the flesh shared between Takeyama and Reiko, a bridge to some place where love and doom meet. This Criterion Collection disc also features a filmed interview with Mishima, as well as an audio recording of a talk he gave. --Tom Keogh
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