Berlinale 2014, Day 9 (Yukinojo Henge)

The Queen was out of order after the first movie on Saturday so I have the honour of presenting to you Saturday’s evening movies!

Yukinojo Henge (An Actor’s Revenge, ?????)
Japan 1935-36/1952, Teinosuke Kinugasa, 97?

Yukinojo’s parents were driven to suicide by the local magistrates when he was a child. It’s 1863 when he arrives with his troupe in Edo (now Tokyo) as a successful onnagata (woman actor in Kabuki theatre, they did the Shakespeare thing and did not allow women) finding his mortal enemies in the audience and finally exacting his carefully planned vengeance. After an opulent sword fight with one of his enemy’s henchmen and after burning down the house of another, finally all of them die in the Kabuki theatre in a quite literal dramatic catharsis.

An explanation about the production years is warranted: Originally produced as a 5-hour-long three-parter, the movie was premiered between June ’35 and January ’36. As it was Kinugasa’s most popular historical movie (jidaigeki) Shochiku smelled the money, slaughtered it down to 97 minutes and re released it in 1952. Unfortunately this is the only version in existence, so this is what was shown in Berlin.

I sorely lament the cut version. The movie is suspenseful, Kazuo Hasegawa as Yukinojo is a marvelous actor when he switches effeminate onnagata and vengeful onnagata, the lighting and cinematography overall is splendid. What remains of the plot is highly satisfying but feels highly rushed at all times. So much has been omitted that several times a voice from the off narrates what has been left out while they show a few shots from those cut scenes. However even cut down to 97 minutes it is a wonderful movie. While you lament how much better the original must have been, you still get caught up in the story and the portrayal of Yukinojo is highly captivating.