Mishima – A Life in Four Chapters

14 10 2008

Mishima – A Life in Four Chapters is a movie I watched sometime ago.

Mishima

Decided to write about it because almost everyone I know never watched it, and it is a masterpiece.

Mishima

It’s a mix of fiction and true story about the life of Yukio Mishima, a famous japanese writer who wrote great novels back in 1950s and 1960s.

Mishima

It was produced in Japan by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

Mishima

I came to know about the movie just last year, because I’m a huge fan of composer Philip Glass, which made all the music on Mishima soundtrack. An orchestral, powerful music.

Here’s a sample:

It’s a very different movie. Mixed documentary with the dramatization of some of the most famous novels written by Mishima, such as The Temple of the Gold Pavilion, Kyoko’s House and Runaway Horses.

Mishima

What still shocks people today, and is the centerpoint of the whole documentary, isn’t Mishima’s life… ironically it’s his death.

Mishima

In November 25th, 1970, Mishima and a group of young nationalists he himself recruited, took hostage the commandant of Tokyo headquarters of the Eastern Command of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.

Mishima

He them demanded to gather all military personal and gave a speech.
His objective was to convince the military that the country needed a coup d’etat to restore the powers of the emperor, only to find rejection from the people hearing his speech.
He them, proceeded, with the help of his recruits, to commit seppuku, the ritualistic suicide ritual that’s part of japanese ancient history.

It was something he had planned for at least a year before.