Die Tragödie der Belladonna

In medieval France, young couple Jean and Jeanne marry, but on the wedding night, an attempt to pay the required tribute to their lord results in a group sexual assault on Jeanne. Shattered by this, Jeanne is visited by Satan in the form of a very small penis man, who offers her the power to strike back against her abusers in exchange for her soul. Jeanne initially resists, but succumbs in stages, each resulting in penis Satan becoming a bit larger and Jeanne gaining some power over the lord, but ultimately facing greater setbacks. When she is at her lowest, she gives in completely and soon must be dealt with by the lord.

The first thing to note about this film is that it is exquisitely animated. Anime pioneer Eiichi Yamamoto, who had a hand in "Astroboy" and "Kimba the White Lion", forgoes any semblance of contemporary anime style and forges a psychedelic and deeply transgressive style based in modernist European watercolors. A lot of the animation is just still watercolor paintings that the camera pans across, but there's also a fair amount of animation. It's an absolutely gorgeous film.

This provides even more power to the film's very sexual, hallucinatory and transgressive images. It's very easy to label a film this explicit as "pornography", but none of the imagery in this film is used with any intention to arouse the viewer. It's very much apiece with the story that quite deliberately does not equate the embrace of "Satan" ... in this story, the embrace of personal, anti-authoritarian power partly via sexuality ... with evil. It's a deeply disturbing film with some of the most bizarre sexual imagery I have ever seen, but I also think it's a quiet masterpiece.

This film is a masterpiece. There are very few animation films that cross the territory into high art, but this is one. Calling it anime is kind of a disservice as it is more rooted in animated art films than it is anime. This may be Japans first animated masterpiece. But it was not done in a style many of us understand to be anime. It is deeply surrealistic in both imagery and approach. While some scenes are not animated, but rather hand painted still frames which are panned and edited together, but this never detracts from the overall context of the film. The animation itself is a blend of styles throughout the film, but the heavy use of watercolor lends well to the new 4K restored version.

This is a very adult film. It is highly sexual in nature. As an art film though from this era, it is actually not out of bounds. With that being said, art films, especially foreign ones, are not for everybody.

This is a feminist film, but it may be a difficult film to watch for some. So a bit of a trigger warning for those who care. The themes do deal deeply with sexual trauma and violence, and recovering from it. It is also though about finding independence in a patriarchal system, and ownership of ones own sexuality.

So beyond all that, if you do want to experience something different and beautiful, this film is something to behold. Everything from the great psychedelic rock, and free jazz soundtrack, to the mix of animation and artistic styles, we have a film that stands out even to this day. It is unique in what it offers. It's restoration should be celebrated.

On a side note, I have to credit AFI Silver in Silver Spring, MD for screening this film. It remains one of the best cinema's in the country as otherwise forgotten films find new audiences. This really has not been screened much in the US.

My hope is this does make it to blu-ray or some other media format. For now the credit is to the new distributors, but also arts cinemas like AFI Silver that are currently screening the film. It is a rare treat to see a film like this.

When I started the film, I was lured in by its bleak narrative and erotic imagery. If it weren't for the language, Belladonna would be unrecognizable as anime, with its realistic proportions, faded colors, sexual themes, and psychedelic imagery/soundtrack. I quickly emphasized with our lead's suffering, and the allure of Satan himself when all joy and hope is dead.

Unfortunately, while the initial premise was fascinating and sensual, Belladonna lacks the depth to make it a masterpiece. There is no real development. There are no likable characters. Jean doesn't ascend from her demons. Her downfall isn't particularly evocative. Its half emotional torture porn, half stoner fuel.

The animation is also kind of bad. Heck, most of the time, you're only given stills. Some shots are beautiful, but others seem very cheap. Others are nonsensical, immature pieces of graffiti that somehow snuck into an art film.

Belladonna seems disjointed between two opposite demographics and isn't good enough for either one. I wish someone could do this story better justice. But it was an interesting movie, especially for its time. Because of a few scenes and overall unique place in animation, I'd recommend it to those who are into more "art house" film. I wouldn't to those who want strong character and narrative.

Background:

Kanashimi no Belladonna, literally translated as 'Belladonna of Sadness' or figuratively as 'The Tragedy of Belladonna' is an avant- garde feature film produced by Mushi Production and directed/co- written by Eiichi Yamamoto in 1973. It was loosely inspired by the 1862 book La Sorcière (Satanism and Witchcraft) by French historian Jules Michelet. It's also the third and final installment in the Animerama trilogy conceived by manga god Osamu Tezuka, but is the only one that was neither written nor directed by him.

This isn't your typical anime by any stretch of the imagination. The rating is listed as Rx, but rest assured it isn't intended to induce erotic pleasure in any way, shape or form. It's a dark and twisted experimental sequence of art and storytelling that should be treated no less.

Story:

Belladonna of Sadness tells the tragedy of the beautiful peasant woman Jeanne who was raped by the land baron of her village on her wedding night after the couple failed to meet marriage taxes. Spurned by her husband, she decided to make a pact with the devil to gain wealth and power, but not without facing certain consequences. Jeanne becomes a suspect of witchcraft, and is subsequently banished from her village by the baron.

However, with the village quickly becoming swallowed by the cusp of the bubonic plague the baron is forced to change his heart. He summons Jeanne back and offers her the rank of highest noble in return for her to rescue them from despair with the mysterious flower she possessed. Regardless, Jeanne's motives were altered by her painful experiences, and she refused to accept such an offer.. which ultimately leads to her fate and the pinnacle of the film.

The final scene ends with an image of Eugène Delacroix's 'La Liberté guidant le people.' The painting features a female personification of liberty itself, leading a mixture of social classes during the French Revolution. In the film Jeanne finds herself in a similar position, and her impact on society can be compared with that of Joan of Arc, Salem witch trials, and several prominent women in history.

This story is depicted rather well throughout the duration of the film and is often told metaphorically with symbolism rather than figuratively with speech. The nature of it is widely subjective, but certainly compelling nonetheless. I believe it's most rewarding with an open mind.

Characters:

The characters aren't a strong aspect of the film. The only truly memorable character is Jeanne, but like the others she lacks any real development. This doesn't hinder the experience in the end, because the characters were never really intended to be a centerfold. They merely exist as a route of administration for the lessons and morals lurking in the shadows of the film.

Jeanne's character in particular appears to represent feminism, and relates to a myriad of prominent women throughout history. Especially when considering her comparison with Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc).

Michelet's book La Sorcier which inspired Belladonna of Sadness arguably depicts the story of Joan of Arc, and portrays her resistance against feudalism and the Catholic Church. The similarities with Jeanne can be seen most in the final scenes of the film.

Art:

The visuals are reminiscent of watercolor paintings and heavily influenced by western art. It often hangs in limbo between realism and surrealism, and surely isn't considered typical. The quality is fair considering it was produced in the 70s. It's also pending the release of a 4k restoration that will greatly enhance the clarity and colors.

Animation:

The animation suffers greatly where the art shines. Many of the scenes are depicted by panning across still paintings rather than being animated. This could be seen as a matter of style or budget, but it definitely could've benefited from consistency. Regardless, I think the animation can be forgiven considering the era it was produced.

Sound:

The music is as funky as the era it came from and varies greatly from the Rock Opera to Psychedelic genre and beyond. It's almost always fitting, and creates indescribable emotions that go hand in hand with the images on screen.

Overall:

A belladonna is a highly toxic flower, which also stands for 'beautiful woman.' In the past, witches were believed to use a mixture of belladonna and other plants in flying ointment, which they applied to help them fly to gatherings with other witches. A theory for the inclusion of belladonna in flying ointments concerns the dream-like waking state it produces.

Much of the scenes in the film are depicted as if the viewer was under the influence of the belladonna flower. Similar to the flower, the film itself can also be interpreted from many different perspectives.

In my eyes Belladonna of Sadness holds significant implications regarding sexuality, feminism, religion, and history. It presents a thought provoking succession of metaphorical imagery far ahead of its time, and I won't ever forget the impact it had on me.

Impressive work of art. The back cover of the Blu-ray states that this is the last film in the Animerama trilogy. In doing a little research I found that Animerama is defined as "...a series of thematically- related adult anime feature films originally conceived and initiated by Osamu Tezuka..." This third film was co-written and directed by Eiichi Yamamoto inspired by the book SATANISM AND WITCHCRAFT by Jules Michelet.

The animation is fairly basic. It's largely comprised of long paintings, done in watercolor. The effect reminds me of certain Japanese scrolls where, as they unwind, the story is told. In the case of this film, however, the camera slowly moves right to left along the painting, occasionally zooming in. There is also other limited use of cell animation where the camera is shooting each of the different cells and they are presented in sequence on film to show progression/movement...at a lower slower frame rate than, say, the average Disney cell animation. As mentioned, it's all fairly basic and yet still works well in combination with the other elements. Which are:

Narration, requiring reading of subtitles for those not fluent in Japanese.

And a great sound/music score that I wouldn't mind having on CD. It ranges from trippy to hauntingly beautiful with a few actual songs that are quite nice. And other chaotic or horrific or beautiful sounds and music. All complementing the imagery in a way that is very important to this type of animated film.

Who would I recommend this to. It deals with some pretty strong subject matter, not the least of which is rape. Horror fans may appreciate some of the darker aspects of the film. But beyond that: Do you appreciate art? Do you appreciate Japanese culture/history? Are you open to alternative forms of storytelling? If you answer yes to all then you will probably like this film. I thought it was one of those rare treats that I likely will revisit. I'm also now curious about the other two films in the Animerama trilogy.