Sayonara

The books of James Michener taking readers to faraway places with strange sounding names were probably at their most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. His Tales of the South Pacific became a major blockbuster Broadway hit for Rodgers&Hammerstein. South Pacific was directed by Joshua Logan and he was a natural to do the film adaption of another Michener success, Sayonara.

It was only a decade before that American films during World War II did not portray the Japanese kindly. I'm sure it wasn't easy for people who fought the Pacific war to change attitudes overnight. That and a general no fraternization policy with occupied peoples in general are at the crux of this story about interracial romance.

Sayonara is a relevant film today. The military has always butted in to the personal lives of its personnel in ways no civilian employer could get away with legally. In America at the time Sayonara was made there were still miscegenation laws on the books in many states. Today gays in the military is a big issue. Someone may one day do a Sayonara like film on that issue.

Joshua Logan was on familiar ground. South Pacific also had racism as a component of its plot. With a sure hand, Logan assembled a great cast and crafts a beautiful story.

Marlon Brando, Patricia Owens, James Garner, Kent Smith some of the occidental players do a fine job. But the picture is stolen by the orientals here. Miko Taka hits the mark beautifully as Brando's love interest. But the real stars are the two that one both Supporting players Oscars, Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki.

Buttons is your everyman enlisted man Air Force member. He falls passionately in love with Katsumi played by Miyoshi Umeki. They marry and the military cruelly does everything they can to break them up. They presume to KNOW what's best for Buttons and Umeki. Buttons was a TV comedian and a fair talent, but he never got a part as good as this the rest of his career.

And Miyoshi Umeki's Oscar was the first one given to an oriental. It got a great deal of attention because at the time of the Academy Awards, Miyoshi was starring on Broadway in Flower Drum Song. I was privileged to see it on Broadway, it was the first Broadway show I ever saw. I still carry the memory of it.

That Oscar symbolized something else too. Our war with Japan was really over and we saw in Sayonara a great nation with a proud tradition and culture.

Ricardo Montalban plays Nakamura, a Kabuki Theatre actor. If Sayonara were done today, Logan would never get away with it. But Montalban is fine.

Good location photography and a grand story. This film should be revived more often it has a great moral.

Beautiful shots of Japan And even though it's shot in 1957, it was filmed in Technirama and Technicolor.. truly amazing how it still looks vibrant today on a modern tv. I'm sure these soldiers faced such obstacles, falling in love with women of a nation we were at war with but today, all these years later it seems absurd they'd be harassed for it and only natural for young men 1,000s of miles from home for years on end. It's based on a James Michener book and even though it's 60+ yrs old, it's obvious they sure knew how to make movies all those yrs ago... I'd rather watch these old movies than 80% of the ridiculous content that's been out out in the past 30 years. Yes, there's a lot more movies put out these days but I'd venture an estimate that the quality movies produced today vs 60 yrs ago... they had us beat without a doubt. Great flick.. enjoy!!

Sayonara is one of my special favorites. I love rediscovering this beautiful film. Personally I disliked the book; I found it cowardly. Brando is apparently responsible for the courageous ending of the film and I bless him for it. I find he was extraordinarily brave way back in 1957 when Sayonara was made. Strong, wonderful cast are a delight; James Garner, Patricia Owens and the two Oscar winners, Buttons and Umeki support Brando and Miiko Taki. The soundtrack is also lovely.

There's no doubt that this is a dated film. But there are certain advantages to that. It's definitely a film of its time, and as such is very revealing. Although some of the dialogue and characterizations (not to mention the music) inspire giggles, there's a fair amount to be admired here. I was pleasantly surprised by how frank the film is in its portrayal of institutionalized racism and its effects on the rank-and-file soldiers and the buracracy that controls their lives. Red Buttons and the woman who played his wife both won Oscars for their roles, and deservedly so. They are not the main characters of the film, but they embody the film's message and its spirit as well, and are the most naturally written characters in the movie.

Red Buttons's display of rage when his wife attempts to disguise her ethnicity is amazingly genuine and moving.

Yes, the women are portrayed in a derogatory fashion, as a previous reviewer has observed. But this was 1957, after all, and on top of that the film takes place in a military setting. Add to that the fact that Japan at that time was at least as bad as the West in its treatment of women and it's hardly a surprise that the gender dynamic is what it is. The most ironic thing, I found, was the fact that although Hollywood was comfortable casting Asian women in the film, the one speaking role by a Japanese male character (who has a subtly romantic role in relation to an American woman) was given to Ricardo Monalban. It was okay to have miscegenation portrayed with some frankness, as long as it involved Japanese women, not Japanese men. Sad,

Released in December of 1957, Sayonara went on to earn 8 Oscar nominations and would pull in 4 wins. Red Buttons won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in his role as airman Joe Kelly who falls in love with a Japanese woman while stationed in Kobe during the Korean War. Oscar nominated for Best Leading Actor, Marlon Brando plays Major Lloyd Gruver, a Korean War flying ace reassigned to Japan, who staunchly supports the military's opposition to marriages between American troops and Japanese women and tries without any success to talk his friend Joe Kelly out of getting married. Ironically Marlon Brandos character soon finds love of his own in a woman of Japanese descent. This movie highlights the prejudices and cultural differences of that time. Filmed in beautiful color and with stunning backgrounds I found this movie to be well worth watching just for these effects alone. Good movie, gimme more...GimmeClassics