A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (Hishu monogatari) - Cinema Epoch (DVD)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1977
Director: Seijun Suzuki
Writer: Gan Yamazaki
Cast: Kyôko Enami, Yoshio Harada, Masumi Okada, Shûji Sano, Yoko Shiraki, Jô Shishido

Release Date: August 11th, 2009
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 5 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region 1 NTSC
Retail Price: OOP

"Professional model Reiko (Shiraki) has been groomed to the higher ranks of the golf circuit by the editor of a golfing fashion magazine. Her victory during her first professional competition wins her the approval not only of her side-burned, shade-wearing mentor, but a whole new television audience, where she makes regular appearances clad in a bikini and wielding a 9-iron. Everybody wants a piece of Reiko, including neighbor-from-hell, Mrs Semba, who begins stalking her.

One evening while practicing her putting, Mrs. Semba confronts and blackmails her. With her career seriously threatened, Reiko has no choice but to concur. However, the blackmailer is soon abusing her power, sheering off Reiko's hair, and throwing drunken parties. Soon Reiko finds herself succumbing more and more to Semba's violent fantasies." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 1.5/5

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness comes of a single layer DVD.

Disc Size: 4.1 GB

There is no information provided about the source used for this transfer. Any source debris is fortunately minimal. Colors generally look good, image clarity is inconsistent, black levels are weak, there are compression-related issues, and there is noticeable edge enhancement throughout. That said, this release's transfer is still a noticeable improvement over the only other release that I know of, a Hong Kong DVD release from 2003.

Audio: 2/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in Japanese, and removable English subtitles. Though the audio is limited range-wise, dialog comes through clearly enough to follow. That said, don’t expect anything remotely dynamic. It should be noted that there is a brief scene around the sixty-six minute mark that lasts for about a minute and a half that is not subtitled despite dialog being spoken.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese, no subtitles), a stills gallery, and an essay that I wrote for this release. It should be noted that this review contains is the full text of that essay.

Summary:

After directing an incredible forty films over a twelve-year span (1956–1967) for Nikkatsu, director Seijun Suzuki would be unceremoniously fired by Nikkatsu’s president, Hori Kyusaku. He would declare that "Suzuki’s films were incomprehensible, that they did not make any money, and Suzuki might as well give up his career as a director as he would not be making films for any other companies."

Following his exile from Nikkatsu, Seijun Suzuki would retreat to television, directing three projects: Good Evening, Dear Husband: A Duel (1968), There’s a Bird Inside a Man (1969), and A Mummy’s Love (1970), while he awaited the verdict in his court case against Nikkatsu, who terminated his contract after Branded to Kill (1967).

Though Seijun Suzuki would win his case of defamation against Nikkatsu, his career would come to a halt after being blacklisted by all the major studios in Japan. There would be a ten-year gap between Branded to Kill, the last film that he directed for Nikkatsu, and his return to the big screen with 1977’s A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness.

Seijun Suzuki is primarily known for directing flamboyant films about dysfunctional characters who quickly find themselves in over their heads as they try to escape the demons from their past. Seijun Suzuki’s take on the sports and entertainment worlds in A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is reminiscent of the way that he approached the Yakuza, prostitutes, and samurai that are prominent in the films that he directed for Nikkatsu.

It is fascinating how Seijun Suzuki is able to transform the themes explored in A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness by drawing similarities from the plot and its characters that show that they are not that different from the Yakuza, prostitutes, and samurai that populate his other films. Beneath every surface are layers of reality, and Seijun Suzuki, just like the characters in his films, never reveals their true intentions until this moment of truth arrives in A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness.

The heroine of A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness Reiko is an insecure model. It is her need for acceptance that leads to her manipulation by a character named Mr. Miyake, whose ultimate goal is to make her a dominant golfer. Reiko eventually falls for Mr. Miyake, who is cold and brazen toward her.

Reiko is a determined woman whose desire to please Mr. Miyake leaves her broken and exhausted. She practices at one point so much that her hands start bleeding. During her tournament debut, she faints before her last shot. And lying on the ground, she looks over at Mr. Miyake, who motions for her to get back up. Wanting to please Mr. Miyake, she gets up and sinks the shot, only to collapse again.

The first act of A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness focuses on her training; the middle of the film shifts the focus to her rise as a star; and the last act details her downward spiral.

The femme fatale of A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is an obsessed fan named Senboh, who, through blackmail, works her way into Reiko’s life. The most disturbing moment and the event that signals Senboh's state of mind is a scene where she cuts up an autograph that she received from Reiko "Ginzu style". Senboh engulfs herself in her new-found power by forcing Reiko to cut her hair in a grotesque fashion. Once again, unable to think for herself, Reiko lets her stalker manipulate her life until chaos reigns supreme. Eventually, Senboh finally reaches her own breaking point when she invites several hanger-ons to Reiko’s house for a party. Reiko is literally eaten alive by the very masses that made her famous. With everyone at the party disregarding Reiko’s boundaries as they mock her and rummage through her belongings.

After this impromptu party reaches its conclusion, it becomes painfully obvious to Senboh that she’s been used and tossed aside. The other key person in Reiko’s life is her younger brother Jun, whom she takes care of. Junis is overly protective of his older sister, and he becomes increasingly jealous the more attention that is paid to her, with whom he once shared an inseparable bond.

Visually, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness demonstrates that Seijun Suzuki, despite his prolonged break from filmmaking, has not lost a step. With the scene that leaps out as classic Seijun Suzuki being a hit-and-run sequence that uses slow motion to emphasize that tragic event.

During the chaos, Reiko tries to leap from the moving car. She's then reined back in by Mr. Miyake, who stops the car at the edge of a cliff. This scene symbolically shows that they finally went too far and that there are consequences for their actions. The most satisfying moment visually is a montage sequence that shows several closeups of Reiko at the various stages of her evolution.

Yoshio Harada is cast in the role of Mr. Miyake. He had a long and varied career, and some of his notable films include Stray Cat Rock: Wild Measures ’71, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance, Shogun’s Samurai, Hunter in the Dark, Onini: The Fire Within, Party 7, and 9 Souls. After working with Seijun Suzuki for the first time on A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness, they would collaborate on four more films: The Fang in the Hole, Zigeunerweisen, Kageroza, and Yumeji.

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness' most remarkable performance is Kyôko Enami's in the role of Senboh, Reiko’s stalker. Other notable films that she has appeared in include The Wolves, The Fall of Ako Castle, and the Gambling Woman series. Cast in this film’s lead role, Reiko, is an actress named Yoko Shiraki, and A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness appears to be her only film. And one of Seijun Suzuki’s frequent collaborators from Nikkatsu, Joe Shinodo, has a brief cameo as a cop. Ultimately, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is a decadent tale about obsession and the pitfalls of fame.

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness is an extraordinary film that is crying out for a release that is on par with the Arrow Video releases of Seijun Suzuki’s films.

 Written by Michael Den Boer