The cerebral cool of Schrader's perspective sacrifices emotional connection to its subject.
Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:19
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Paul Schrader’s directorial masterpiece is a classy and imaginative portrait enriched by a stunning score and impressive cinematography.
Theatrical Release:10-07-2009
Synopsis: MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS is director Paul Schrader's stunning film biography of one of Japan's most celebrated post-World War II writers--Yukio Mishima (Ken Ogata). A fictionalized account... MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS is director Paul Schrader's stunning film biography of one of Japan's most celebrated post-World War II writers--Yukio Mishima (Ken Ogata). A fictionalized account in four segments, three of the segments parallel events in Mishima's life with his novels (THE TEMPLE OF THE GOLDEN PAVILLION, KYOKO'S HOUSE, and RUNAWAY HORSES), while the fourth depicts November 25, 1970, the last day of his life, a day in which he committed two puzzling, stunning acts--one political, one deeply personal. MISHIMA is an amazing, disturbing multidimensional character study whose stunning visual splendor is supported by a riveting score by Philip Glass. It is a daring film that explores an obsessed artist--and tries to understand him--through his own writing. [More]
Starring: Ken Ogata, Kenji Sawara, Yasosuke Bando, Toshiyuki Nagashima
Starring: Ken Ogata, Kenji Sawara, Yasosuke Bando, Toshiyuki Nagashima
Director: Paul Schrader
Director: Paul Schrader
Composer: Philip Glass
Reviews for Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters
Paul Schrader’s 1985 biopic necessarily guts his controversial life — but the visual style is superb.
The gorgeous, artsy 1985 biopic Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is the best movie that Paul Schrader has yet directed.
From Philip Glass's glorious score to John Bailey's rich cinematography, Schrader's movie is never less than ravishing.
Those unfamiliar with Mishima’s work may find the expressionistic novel sequences overly rich, but Schrader’s film is a visually arresting, imaginative and intelligent overview of a difficult subject.
Graced with a throbbing orchestral score from Philip Glass and John Bailey’s luminous photography, this is appropriately monumental filmmaking.
It’s fetishistic, lyrical, narcissistic and, at key moments, borderline berserk. In other words, the movie captures its subject to a tee.
Offers a mesmerizing profile of the famous Japanese writer whose life was filled with drama.
It's Mishima's diagrammatic structure that most perfectly suits its subject, defined by his will to harmony.
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