The Dragon Painter

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.

Actor Sessue Hayakawa, after his role in 1915's "The Cheat," became extremely upset how Hollywood was portraying Asians in unflattering steorotypical images. Securing start-up funding, the Japanese-born Hayakawa set out to establish the first Asian-owned film production company in the United States, Haworth Pictures Corporation. Its owners set out to portray Asians in their own environment, interacting in their own customs and traditions, a much more realistic portrayal of the millions of people an ocean away from North America than they were being seen on the screen.

The earliest surviving film of Haworth Pictures Corp. Is September 1919's "The Dragon Painter." Adapted from a 1906 novel of the same name, the studio's ninth movie depicted a mad, solitary artist (Hayakawa) who believed his wife of 1,000 years ago was a dragon hidden in the wilds of Japan (the stunning mountains were filmed in Yosemite National Park). A few of his paintings end up in the hands of a famous aging painter who is seeking a protege to take over his mantle once he dies. Trouble is, the nutty painter draws inspiration on his late imaginary 1,000 year-old wife. The master artist sets up his daughter to transform into that dragon wife to encourage him to remain in his household. When the young painter falls in love with the daughter (played by Hayakawa's actual wife, Tsuru Aoki), he loses all inspiration in painting, causing a dilemma in the master's plans.

In its three years of existence, Haworth Pictures was a reasonable success, producing 23 movies and making enough money for Hayakawa to pay off the initial one million dollar loan as well as enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, complete with a gold-plated Pierce-Arrow car. Anticipating Prohibition in 1920, the actor purchased an enormous amount of liquor, allowing him to hold elaborate parties fortified with plenty of booze when a legal drop of alcohol couldn't be bought anywhere.

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.

A silent film from 1919, this is a story about Tatsu, the Dragon Painter, played by Sessue Hayakawa, who was quite a big star in American silent film ( he won an Oscar for his work decades later in "Bridge Over The River Kwai"). He is seeking an enchanted princess whom the gods took from him. He paints pictures of dragons because of this. An older artist named Indara, seeking to find an heir to his artistry, hears about Tatsu and summons him. He realizes Tatsu is the real thing and lures him by using his daughter Ume-Ko (played by Hayakawa's real life wife, Tsuru Aoki)to act as the princess Tatsu seeks. This film is great. It is a simple story told perfectly, in less than an hour. It was part of a TCM network retrospective on Asian images in cinema. The film is beautifully restored and even has great music, played on instruments from Japan. This is a silent film that you should enjoy, it tells the tale wonderfully. I recommend it.

The film produced by Hayakawa's own production company Hayworth indeed has a different "look" from the contemporaneous Orientalist productions of Hollywood. Although it does fulfill the almost obligatory casting of Caucasian actors playing yellowface, Edward Peil Sr.'s Japanese art master Kano Indara doesn't seem at all attempt to be "authentic" oriental, not to mention to compete with his Japanese/Asian co-actors as one would find with Warner Oland in films such as The Daughter of Dragon and Shanghai Express. Sessue Hayakawa and Tsuru Aoki are without the doubt the focus of this film. The scenic design also avoids the extravagant Orientalist/art deco ornaments popular at that time, opting for a simple interior design, while lavishing on the natural landscapes framed as quintessential Japanese (despite the fact that they were shot in California). Moreover, the Japaneseness of this film has something to do with the occasional violation of the classical Hollywood editing rules; for instance, the eye-line match in the scene in which the surveyor finds out the talent of the dragon painter by the waterfall is completely off, creating a sense of spatial disorientation that predates Ozu.

As a sidenote, Hayakawa's madman also foresees the famous acting of Toshiro Mifune.