Gohatto

"Gohatto" ("Taboo") is a fascinating film about the danger of beauty : to sum it up, a young "ephebe"'s ethereal beauty spreads like a plague, infecting a whole company of iron hard men in the process. As you must know by now, Oshima tackles in this film the forbidden subject of homosexuality among Samurais.

The movie's premise -and this is a bit of an understatement...- unleashed controversies and protests, in some Japanese traditional quarters : "taboo" indeed (-What about American cowboys, too ? Officially all white heterosexuals ? Yeeeah, right...) But I would argue that, somehow, the "homosexual act" itself is not the film's core subject : its characters discuss it quite openly; we are nowhere near the sniggering comedies of the West, the politically correct heavy handed lessons of Hollywood, or the louche coded homoerotic European art films. This ...is a Japanese movie : about beauty vs. discipline; self-denial and ideals; internal conflict and tragic resolution. Homosexuality here does not equate limp wristed / camp / victimised diffidence and other suchlike cliches -from the start, we are shown that Kano is a ruthless killer, and a master swordsman.

What disturbs, and gradually destroys, the supremely rigid order of the Samurai militia is Kano's personal aura, his -apparent !- frailty, this unnerves these iron hard warriors, the story of which is cleverly presented in a two-pronged attack by Nagisa Oshima.

On one hand, the master director plays it seriously, insisting on very static set pieces (where seated, immobile, Samurais discuss sex and murder without flinching); on the other, Oshima introduces elements of pure comedy....The name Shakespeare crops up (more about that later).

Firstly, this is a very formal film : static, slow, constructed, well-defined, about structures to be respected upon penalty of death, codes of honour (such as sexual : official initiation by geishas; or ethical : no betrayal of the group), hierarchical ("Which school do you belong to ?" they ask of each other), etc.. In a weird way, Takeshi's own facial half-paralysis serves the purpose of the film. Not to mention Kano's immaculate white attire, as opposed to the black armours all around.

But on the other hand, there are elements of comedy. The old unassuming guy who Kano meets turns out to be an officer ...and also a clumsy swordsman (joke fight scene), the colossus assigned to take the youth to a brothel sends the wrong signal ("-Er... don't !" he reminds himself), and so on. After a while, the story almost turns into a "whoddunit", except this time it's physical attraction we're talking about : which one of these hard men, beneath the surface, has not secretly fallen for Kano ?

I mentioned Shakespeare earlier : I saw this film with some Japanese young ladies, who confessed afterwards that , without the subtitles, they wouldn't have understood the language : old Japanese. But I am also thinking of the juxtaposition of levels : comedy and drama, love and ethics, saucy overtones, ...and the ineluctability of tragedy to unfold. It's pretty clear that the alleged lover, Tashiro, is not in fact, and that he will serve the hand of fate : sublime last scenes.

Finally, for all lovers of Japanese cinema, it's fun to spot Takeshi's mates, who usually feature in his trademark ultra-violent, Zen nihilistic, gangster movies : they're all here, under various fabulous wigs.

If you liked this film, you'll love Claire Denis's "Beau Travail", that was the best film of 2000.

Nagisa Oshima's work is always visually exquisite. He has that finely honed, generations-old Japanese eye for detail which has served his artistry well over the last 50 years. It reveals itself to be the difference in the world of film that a Monet, Michelangelo, or Van Gogh is to sidewalk chalk drawings.

Decades ago, Oshima set out explore new territories, to leave formula and standard, approved plot progressions behind and delve into the deeper recesses of the human experience. What comes out of that are works of storytelling which require more attention and involvement on the part of the viewer than your typical Michael Bay or Renny Harlin flick. Not that pure escapist entertainment is a bad thing; far from it. But you don't generally come away from one of those features wanting to go sit at a table with your friends, staying up to the wee hours discussing what you've just seen and all the ramifications of each scene. In simpler terms, they don't enrich your intellect! (I think even Bay?s and Harlin?s most ardent fans can agree with me on that part :-) ).

"Gohatto" is the Japanese word meaning "Taboo" in its simplest form, so you know going in your about to see something out of the ordinary. Oshima has long had a fascination with the dichotomies in Japanese culture (and frankly most cultures) between how behavior is proscribed and how the more primal, instinctual urges (mostly sex) always find their way to the surface in spite of those mores. Oshima has also found a fascination in seeing how both Western and Eastern cultures have, at one time or another (or more than one), put strict moral taboos on homosexuality, adultery, and even on prostitution, but these strictures have never eliminated or even slowed down their existence.

"Gohatto" takes us into a world 150 years ago where such things don't exist on the surface but are fully integrated into what is real life just beneath. Whether such subject matter, or exploring Eastern cultures, particularly interests you or not, if you're interested in being challenged by the art that you see, "Gohatto" (like Peter Greenaway's recent "The Pillow Book") is a must-see film.

Ïn 1865, in Kyoto, in a period of fights among different clans, Sozaburo Kano (Ryuhei Matsuda) and Hyozo Tashiro (Tadanobu Asano) join a samurai legion to be trained as warriors. The beauty of the manipulative Kano sexually attracts the other men, including high ranking commanders, and he becomes lover of Tashiro.

"Gohatto" is a weird movie for westerns like me, who are not familiarized with Japanese culture. However, it is a beautiful movie, with a stunning music score and a wonderful photography. Although I have not completely understood the plot, specially the conclusion of the story, I found this movie very intriguing and I liked it. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Tabu" (Taboo")

Gohatto: 7/10

This was the only Kitano movie I had seen until Brother, and I thought he was someone else in the movie. And then I saw a "more impressive" actor... who turned out to be Kitano. Doh! The story of this was very interesting, and I'm not sure how it'd go over in America. It explores homosexuality and it's relative openness in the samurai, and is based around a handsome young man, who a lot of men fall in love with. These men start turning up dead, and a jealous member of the clan is suspected. The movie gets confusing at times, but I think that is more because of a cultural difference than script downfalls. Kitano is brilliant in this one as the captain who seems to be struggling to hide his affections for the young man (Ryuhei Matsuda as Sozaburo Kano). There are several branching storylines, but they all lead back to the main one. Not a masterpiece of anything, but more quality Asian cinema.

I happened to catch this film on BBC4 last night. My attention was immediately caught by the stunning Japanese setting, and as the film progressed, by the unusual storyline.

This film is about the Shinsen militia: a group of samurai in shogun times. The story explores the homoerotic tensions between the men, as well as the conflict with another militia (group of samurai).

In a way, not much happens in the film, but at the same time, it is fascinating from beginning to end. Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano gives an impressive performance as one of the older samurai, and in fact all the actors are very good.

While the overall atmosphere of the film is quite dark, there are many funny moments which lift the mood. The humour is quite subtle - no slapstick here.

The film is visually stunning, with wonderful use of light and colour to emphasise the mood of each scene. The Japanese mountains, lakes, and buildings look gorgeous.

There are some moments in the film which are quite graphic, both sex and violence. However, this is not done in a gratuitous or grotesque way, and I didn't find it offensive.

Overall, as another reviewer has commented, this film is somewhat cold. Despite the powerful events that happen in the film, they don't really emotionally involve you as a viewer. The film almost feels like a parable rather than a 'realistic' story.

In summary, this is a gorgeous-looking film with an unusual subject matter, which is well worth watching.