One of the nicer things about this year’s Berlinale is the high amount of Ichikawa’s movies.
Enjo (Conflagration, ??)
Japan 1958, Ichikawa Kon, 99′
Based on Yukio Mishima’s “The Temple of the Golden Pavillon” the movie tells the descent into madness of Goichi, a young Buddhist acolyte, who arrives from his dysfunctional family in the countryside to a famous Kyoto temple after his father, head monk of a small village temple, dies. Goichi with his shyness and stuttering issues is entranced by the Golden Pavillon of Shukaku Temple (a blatant ripoff of the real-life Kinkaku-ji), the most beautiful sight in the world according to his father. He’s shaken due to his father’s early death, caused by his learning of Goichi’s mother’s chronic unfaithfulness. Soon after his arrival, his psychologically abusive mother follows, only to accelerate his demise that ends in the Golden Pavillon burning down.
Just now, there was no spoiler regarding the end, as the movie is told as an elaborate flashback revealed during the police investigation. The camera is quite rigid most of the time, together with the simple lighting it’s quite efficient at evoking the rigid atmosphere of a temple. While the lack of colour is a challenge, the choice of shots makes up for it, showing the simple elegance of the temple grounds and the intricate beauty of the pavillon. The story paces itself very well through a number of flashbacks, telling Goichi’s story from his arrival shortly after his father’s death, through all the events that make him doubt the purity of those surrounding the temple, be it the head monk with his mistress, the cynical fellow monk who makes him aware of all the sinful behaviour around him or the tourists streaming in after the war, drowning the temple in money, making it even more corrupt. While the ultimate result and the sheer purity of Goichi’s madness may be hard to follow, the journey up to this point is clear and deliberately told, one can easily empathise with the troubled, pure young man losing belief in mankind and turning to fire as a cleansing agent.