6. Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters (1985)
This film is based on the life and work of Yukio Mishima - a Japanese writer. It stitches together fragments of his life with pieces of his dramatised work. The film was directed by Paul Schrader and co produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. The film begins on a November day, the last day of Mishima's life. He finishes his manuscript, gets dressed and meets with the most loyal generals of his own private army. Through flashbacks to his earlier life, we see a sickly boy growing up to have the perfect physique (Mishima was a narcissist when it came to his body). He detests modern Japan with all its materialism and he wants to bring back traditionalism and restore the Japanese empire. The dramatisations of Mishima's work are interspersed with these flashbacks. Possibly the most interesting is Runaway Horses in which a group of fervent young nationalists try and overthrow the government but fail and their leader kills himself. This story was to mirror Mishima's life. In the end we see him and his followers taking a Japanese Army General hostage. Mishima puts out a call for revolution to the Japanese army but he is ridiculed. His defeat makes him commit seppuku. Thankfully the seppuku (cutting one's stomach) is not shown in graphic terms or it would have come across as gratuitously violent. The portrayal of Mishima as a homosexual in the film angered far right groups in Japan and as a result, the film has never been shown in Its native land. Schrader blends all of the disparate elements of the film together confidently to create an amazing whole. Seppuku (stomach cutting) has a long history in Japanese suicide rituals - dating back to 1180 AD. It became a part of bushido - the code of the Samurai and it was seen as a graceful way to die rather than capitulate to the enemy - a way to restore or protect one's identity as an honourable warrior. Mishima took an increasing militaristic view of life in Japan as his personal life and professional work developed. He most likely committed Seppuke that fateful day as he didn't take well to his ideas being mocked. Rather than submitting to the authorities who would likely treat him terribly for his act of insurrection, Mishima referred back to Samurai code and committed Seppuku - to protect his reputation as a military power. Mishima is a fascinating biopic of the man, and Seppuku was definitely one way for Mishima to stand by his ideals in a time honoured Japanese method of suicide.