Esvástica

Directed and shot with some style, this is a rather lovely tragic drama involving a quartet of characters.

Very Japanese in it's thrust and preoccupations this well told tale pleases and surprises as it unfolds ever unpredictably.

There is much talk of love and betrayal, forgiveness and of course suicide.

The scenes involving the taking of the powders from the bright red squares of paper are astonishing.

Ever beautiful with effective music this not overlong classic of 60's Japanese cinema is a real treat.

Lurid. Hysterical. Gaping improbabilities and plot holes. I thought this might be a must-see because of the presence of Kyoko Kishida, long-faced, thick-lipped, huge-eyed woman in Suna no onna made the same year as Manji and the bizarre nurse in Tanin no kao made two years later. Turns out her other-worldliness was Teshigahara's invention. She's had a much varied 44 year career, mostly away from us here. See Manji for Teshigahara's woman and nurse.

The other woman, despite a long, somewhat distinguished career, looks and acts like an Elizabeth Taylor stand-in tumbled out of Tennessee Williams land. But surely this is director Masmura's invention.

(Manji, by the way, is the Buddhist cross on the DVD box.)

First, The title in English is Swastika & does not in any way relate to Nazis. Second there are many reviews that call this a Pink Eiga film. It is not at all. There is no nudity or sex scenes at all. Reviews that probably never actually watched this film. There is a gay element.

This is the original film based on the novel Quicksand. A melodrama we never learn much about the characters. We do learn and follow the relationship between them which contains a lot of complexity. We learn more about the relationships as the story progresses. In other words it gets better along the way. But the ending was a bit of a let down. I won't spoil it but it's the weakest part of the movie.

The acting is exceptional. Kyoko Kishida is amazing as Sonoko. Ayako Wakao was a huge star when this film was made. Direction is first-rate.

This film has been remade numerous times including most recently "Quicksand -reverse-." I won't call them better or worse but mostly different. This version is a classic and highly recommended.

'Manji' is a film worth seeing. Written by Kaneto Shindô (of 'Onibaba' fame) and based on a novel by Tanizaki (of 'Some Prefer Nettles' fame), the story chronicles the decent/ascent of the unhappily married woman, Sonoko, into an obsessive/liberating relationship with another woman, Mitsuko, associated throughout the film with the goddess of mercy. While all of the main characters' emotions run high, placing 'Manji' firmly in the genre of melodrama, the emotional intensity is always tempered with an element of sly humor. Both Sonoko and Mitsuko have complex motivations, and each is keenly aware of the machinations of the other, ensuring that the story is about passion, weakness, and love, and not about unexamined emotions and victimization.

What do you get when you combine early-60's hairdo's and makeup, histrionic Japanese love triangles and forbidden lesbian passion? In this case, a wonderfully bonkers movie that deserves a larger cult audience.

Any movie that features blood oaths, suicide pacts, taboo love affairs and a wife screaming "You don't love me enough! I need more love!" is one I'll want to see again and again. (Too bad it's so hard to come by in the U.S. -- the film screened recently at the American Cinematheque and Outfest in L.A., and at the San Francisco Gay/Lesbian Film Festival, but apparently only after much paperwork with Japan. Still, if you actually get a chance to see it, DO NOT MISS IT!