The Dragon Painter

"The Dragon Painter" is an interesting silent film; it's about a painter, his art and, of course for the drama, his love story, which I've found to be a promising setup in various films. Among other silent films, Carl Dreyer's "Michael" (1924) and some of the films by Yevgeni Bauer, mostly "The Dying Swan" (1917), come to mind as other worthwhile explorations of these themes. In being art about art, it naturally lends itself to self-reflexivity. In "The Dragon Painter", we don't actually get to see much of the artist's paintings--besides a couple sketches he tosses over a waterfall and a painting at the exhibition--but that's probably for the best, rather than having imitations shown off instead of art. The art in this film is in the photography of landscapes and nature (waterfalls, horizons overlooking canyons, lush gardens and such), which is pictorially beautiful (inexplicably, this film's cinematographer Frank D. Williams learned his craft at Keystone of all places). For one scene, however, a moonlit sky is actually a painted backdrop, which I think nicely reinforces the narrative's self-reflexivity.

In addition to the art about art, Sessue Hayakawa gives an outstanding performance as the painter. I haven't seen him so lively before, although I've only been privileged to see a couple others of his silent films thus far and "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). He was great in "The Cheat" (1915), but he displayed a different sort of acting, characterization there. Hayakawa in "The Dragon Painter" seems closer to Toshirô Mifune, of Akira Kurosawa's films, than to the Hayakawa of "The Cheat" or "The Bridge on the River Kwai". It's appropriate and displays his versatility well. Sessue's real-life wife, Tsuru Aoki, who steals the other film, "The Wrath of the Gods" (1914) available on the same DVD away from him, is also good. Her role in this one could've been rather thankless, but she makes the most of it. On the other hand, this isn't a perfect gem; too many intertitles and some overly quick shot successions seem to be it's most significant weaknesses. Regardless, I'd recommend this for being one of the better films of its time--or, rather, for being a good movie.

Dragon Painter, The (1919)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

At times haunting, at times romantic, this once thought lost silent film turned out to be one of the crowning gems of its era. The film tells the story of Tatsu (Sessue Hayakawa), a madman who has become known as The Dragon Painter. Tatsu believes that a thousand years earlier his one and only love had her spirit taken away by a dragon so all he paints in dragons hoping that one day she will return to him. A master painter (Edward Peil, Sr.) living in Tokyo soon learns of Tatsu's great paintings and brings him in telling Tatsu that he knows where the spirit of his love is. The painter offers up his daughter (Toyo Fujita) in return that Tatsu make great paintings but after Tatsu gets his love back he doesn't feel the need to paint anymore. This film was thought lost for decades until a print turned up in 1977 and thankfully one did because this is a rare case where a lost film turns out to be well worth being found. The movie runs just over 50-minutes and it contains some very strong scenes as well as some great performances. The film was done by Hayakawa's own studio so needless to say the budget isn't the biggest but this works well for the film as it creates a tight and unique atmosphere and really captures the culture of Japan. The set design is also very well done and the new music score serves the film very well. For those of you who only know Hayakawa from his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai then you should certainly seek this film out. The Japanese born actor gives a very strong performance here and his scenes as the madman are right on the mark as are the scenes with him stricken with grief. Peil and Fujita also deliver fine performances. It's also nice seeing a film from this period that show a foreign man doing something other than being a gangster or villain.

A mentally disturbed artist (Sessue Hayakawa), from the mountains of Japan, is convinced that his fiancee, a beautiful princess, has been captured and turned into a dragon. His obsession with his fictitious loss, leads to his artistic inspiration.

It isn't until a young surveyor, (Toyo Fujita) comes across some of Tatsu's artwork, that his genius is discovered. The surveyor then informs the famous artist, Kano Indara about his discovery, who immediately agrees to meet Tatsu.

Indara, his daughter Ume-Ko, and Undobuchida soon realise that they cannot persuade Tetsu to come down from the mountains to further his talent as an artist, without a ploy.

Ume-Ko consequently dresses up as a Princess, and the promise of Tatsu being re-united with his long lost love, lures him into Kano Indara's house. Of course, the family realises that Tatsu has a lot of uncivilized and crazy habits which he needs to get rid of, if he is going to fit into civilized Japanese society.

Overall, the movie is a very sweet and interesting piece. There is great use of color-tinting throughout the film, which perfectly reflects the mood and theme. Hayakawa does an awesome job at playing a madman- a good combination of dramatic and comical acting.

Although it is not the best silent movie I've ever seen, it is definitely worth watching. It's a lovely little fairy tale which puts a smile on your face!

I had never heard of The Dragon Painter and decided to watch it. I'm glad I did. It is a beautiful film, almost devoid of the clichés of silent-era acting (broad mannerisms, excessive mugging, etc) that make many silent films so comical to audiences today.

The lead actor is Sessue Hayakawa, who many film fans may remember as the Pirate Captain in the Disney version of Swiss Family Robinson or from Bridge on the River Kwai. Here he delivers a great performance as a "mad" artist that is at times comical and tragic.

The cinematography and art direction are wonderful, as is the soundtrack.

If I have one complaint it is that the inter-titles play too long on the screen. But this is a minor quibble.

A simple tale of madness, loss, redemption and ultimately love, I can't recommend this film highly enough.

Seeing a young Sessue Hayakawa (well, actually 33 years old) is the highlight of this film, as he really inhabits the character of this youthful and uncouth artist, and has striking good looks besides. He's paired with his real-life wife (Tsuru Aoki), the film was produced by the company he co-founded with director William Worthington, and a part of his aim was to break down racial stereotypes, so there is something personal and intimate about seeing it over a century later. The film touches on the interesting idea that an artist must be longing for something in order to feel inspiration, and if his desires are fulfilled it may kill the creative process, but it was a little simple and drawn out, even in the 53 minute run time. You can read what happens as a ruse or as a magical bit of mythology, but I favor the latter interpretation, as that bookends the "enchanted princess whom the spirits took from him" from the beginning rather nicely. As a little extra bonus, you may recognize Yosemite Valley substituting for a mountainous region of Japan, and the film has some pretty good cinematography in it as well. Overall the film isn't outstanding but it has a certain loveliness to it, and it's worth checking out.