La bête élégante

When watching Japanese films of the thirties, fifties and early sixties (a bit of a hiatus for the war), I find myself constantly asking myself two questions. Why are Japanese films still for the most part so little known and how was it that the Japanese were able to produce fine films with such consistency over such a long period when one compares them particularly with the huge volume of junk churned out by the US film industry in order to produce a small corpus of good films?

Japan was by this time was the largest single country producing film in the world,, in itself a remarkable fact for a monolingual film industry relatively unreliant on exports. The Japanese were overtaken by India sometime in the seventies but that the Indian and European film industries should be, as they currently remain, the largest is completely unsurprising (they each produce something like 1000 films a year). Both are huge continents with cinema traditions that are multilingual with several different centres of production (the majority of Indian films are made in the various centers in South India not in Bombay) but of the monolingual traditions ((with films being made largely in one centre - Hollywood or Tokyo) ,only the US was really comparable but produced many fewer films in total as well as and many fewer of high quality.

This Kawashima film is a beautifully observed and at times very funny satire on the moral postwar Japan, an area in which Kawashima was something of a specialist. Certain key scenes - the moment when the family remember their time of poverty or the brother and sister's wild dance in the sunset, Wakao's surreal imagined "stair-walk" as she recounts her plans for the future - are unforgettable. Wakao' performance is often rightly praised but it is actually the eerily 'ordinary" performances of Yûnosuke Itô and Hisano Yamaoka as the parents that make this film so remarkable.

I have only seen two other films by him but both are excellent in very different ways. Suzaki Paradaisu: Akashingô (1956) is a more melancholy postwar study of a drifting couple while Bakumatsu taiyôden (1957) is a very funny period drama with comedian Frankie Sakkai which also has a sly contemporary relevance. Both are strongly recommended..Kawashima was a major influence on Shohei Imamura (who co-wrote Bakumatsu taiyôden) whose early comedies like Hateshinaki yokubô (1958) and Buta to gunkan (1961) cover rather similar territory. Also to be discoveerd for those who do not already know them.

I have nothing to say about this well done dark comedy other than the goddess rocks harder than ever, while looking at her best. The only real downside of this movie is that the plot gets a bit jumbled and difficult to follow towards the finale, hence I give it an 8,5 instead of a 9. Other than that, it's highly recommended, especially to fans of Ayako Wakao such as myself.

Our opening introduction to Mr & Mrs Maeda follows the pair as they hurriedly stash out of sight all their valued possessions, for on the way up the apartment stairs is their son's boss, with an accountant, to present accusations of large-scale embezzlement... So begins this brilliant cynical social satire, you could almost say chamber drama, stay tuned, unravelling in a volatile atmosphere the offbeat story has some extraordinary surprises ahead... The outstanding film is deliriously black humoured, a distinctive collaboration between two masters of their art, director Yûzô Kawashima and writer Kaneto Shindô. Complimenting the tale is vibrant expressive colour cinematography, brilliantly composed within the tight settings by Nobuo Munekawa.

Coming back to the film after some years, spellbound throughout, compels me to give an extra shout-out for this classic film, one that still mysteriously lingers somewhat in obscurity.

A knockout cast of flawed characters excel in the confined apartment setting, but one role in particular I will single out. Every captivating performance from Ayako Wakao always seems to be her best. Here she is exceptional as the titular character. . Yasuzo Masumura reflected in a 1970 interview that Wakao was, "selfish and calculating ... she's hardly a pure-hearted woman and she knows it."... A formidable natural, this is the very essence of her chic, scintillating role as the firm's manipulative accountant Yukie, 'The Graceful Brute'!

Say no more, Shitoyakana kedamono for me is a treasured essential of Classic Japanese Cinema. Highly Entertaining. Highly Recommended!!

Subtle, and brilliant, with an incredibly wry, dry, satirical sense of humor - I really didn't know what to expect when I sat to watch this, but I am positively over the moon. In every regard this film is remarkably shrewd, twisting ordinary notions into something a little off-kilter, and despite its simple outward appearance there's so much to take in that one may well need to pause just to collect their thoughts. Shindo Kaneto's script is exceptional, centering events entirely around conversations and interactions in and around a single apartment so that the proceedings could just as well be adapted to the stage. The Maeda family puts on airs and takes advantage of everyone around them in every way and to every degree that they can, pushing buttons as far as they dare, and even somewhat working against each other even as they work in concert. The activities of other figures only add to the delicious miasma, and every character is written with marvelous, cunning intelligence and an undeniably fierce spirit. That's to say nothing of the sharp, cutting dialogue that flies between all who come and go across each scene, low-key dazzling and flavorful as each is. Strictly speaking the plot bears a certain flatness as it relies so heavily on these characters and their dialogue to develop, and it would require astonishing acumen to shape that approach into an engaging, enjoyable satisfying viewing experience - but, by Jove, Shindo alone does just that. As events do culminate to a particular end in the last stretch, the result is utterly exquisite. "Jaw-dropping" is often used as hyperbole, but with 'Elegant beast,' also known as 'The graceful brute,' it's quite literal, and reflective of only the utmost praise.

There's the vibrant performances of the cast, buzzing with high energy that's just waiting to explode as scenes and interactions provide its one outlet, and even with that focus the actors give portrayals that are larger than life. In all earnestness I would love to see what a playwright might make of this in a live setting, for Ito Yunosuke, Hamada Yuko, Kawabata Manamitsu, Wakao Ayako, Takamatsu Hideo, Sazanka Kyu, and even Yamaoka Hisano shine with the strident vitality and simmering craftiness they infuse into their roles. True, this credit extends just as well to filmmaker Kawashima Yuzo with his bright direction, guiding the picture toward that bristling undercurrent of ferocity. But each player in and of themselves is so electric in their acting that, like Shindo's screenplay, they pretty much make this a stunning feature all by themselves. To my amazement, as much as devious thoughts and harsh words fly between all the characters who fill the preponderance of the runtime, and for as superb as all the rest of the cast is, the brief appearance of Funakoshi Eiji as Kamiya is more striking yet: when at last we viewers are presented with a character who is genuine and earnest we can immediately discern it, and Kamiya's part in the tableau echoes like a thunderclap for the achingly dark portent it suddenly lends to the whole affair. With only a couple minutes on-screen Funakoshi delivers a performance of emotional depth that shatters the status quo we had been spectating, bringing all to bear even more - right before the last minutes continue with business as usual.

Beyond minding his cast Kawashima has his hands full with other resplendent ingenuity in his capacity as director, for working in concert with cinematographer Munekawa Nobuo and his crew, the fundamental presentation is stupendously keen and absorbing as even framing and blocking are impeccably, smartly calculated. Just as the movie at large carries cheeky sensibilities about it, Kawashima and Munekawa are rather playful in how most every moment is shot, and it's all very purposeful and meaningful. Discrete high angles, low angles, and wide shots may show what every character in a scene is doing; characters in the background will be the focus while someone is in the foreground, or maybe they're talking at the foreground figure; people and set pieces serve as obstacles in the foreground to split our perspective of a scene as it transpires, often connoting discrete divisions and trajectories. Very particular use of lighting, carefully constructed set pieces and shots, voiceovers, and movements of actors add a certain unexpected artistic fancifulness while bolstering the underhanded wit coursing throughout these ninety-five minutes, and there's scarcely one footfall without a sly intent behind it. Where a very mundane, unsophisticated shot is employed, the use almost feels like a small joke in and of itself given how meticulously the title was otherwise constructed.

Raised voices aside, those scant few moments of extra vigor or extra softness throughout the length are piercing for how they complement and bolster everything else herein. Much the same can be said of Ikeno Sei's music, for though it rears its head very sparingly, where it does the use is excellent in what it lends to the storytelling - including the last moments, a stark coda. And really, what a way to end this title that so pointedly critiques modern living: the dog-eat-dog, "every man for himself" selfishness and treachery encouraged by capitalism and the profound inequalities in society, and the shiftiness that allows the amoral or cruel to get ahead while those of any scruples suffer. A little more than fifteen years after World War II, and a hair under ten years since the Allied occupation ended, Shindo and Kawashima set their sights on Japan specifically, but the notions herein are easily, despairingly applied to any locale around the world where one might live. Rounded out with fine contributions from all others behind the scenes, at large the film boasts so many strengths that it stands out head, shoulders, knees, and toes above most others I could name. In all honesty, this is one of the most brilliant features I've ever seen; even for the places the story goes, and the overall tone, "phenomenal" seems too tiny a word to describe it. Given the way this is put together it won't necessarily appeal to all comers, but I cannot overstate how terrific it is, and downright spellbinding. Even having just finished I'm ready to watch it again, and I'm so very pleased to give 'Elegant beast' my very high and enthusiastic recommendation!

The original story of amazingly greedy people with cheat, embezzle and corruption, is an original, written by Kaneto Shindo. It's all set in this little apartment of the Maeda family. The son's taking money from the talent agency that he's working for. But the money's somehow missing. Who's taking it? Parents, who act like they're poor, seem to be hiding something. Or is that the daughter, the writer's mistress? Maybe the tax man, who was helping the agency to evade a tax? The singer looks like he lost so much money, too. Who's the most greedy, clever, smart, sexy and strongest but never seems to show that and always behave gracefully?? This absolute classic (directed by a legend Yuzo Kawashima),beautifully shot and acted should be seen more...and watch out the title role, played by the greatest Ayako Wakao!