Falconeer
Nagisa Oshima is one of my favorite directors; his films are always beautiful and intelligent. "Gohatto" is Oshima's first film in a long time, and it is nice to see that he has not lost his artistic vision. This film is visually stunning, with gorgeous lighting and elegant sets. Unfortunately the subject matter, or maybe how the subject was dealt with, was just too silly to be taken seriously. A young, feminine looking man joins a Samurai clan, only to be lusted after by the older men of the group. We have endless discussions about who is lusting after the boy, who is sleeping with whom, and who is jealous. Grown men acting like spurned women, old men making fools of themselves by falling in love with an 18 year old boy. The fact that these men are Samurai warriors is just so ludicrous. Seeing men of this stature behaving like school girls bordered on sheer comedy. The actors mostly seem embarrassed and uncomfortable with the roles they are playing, and this viewer felt silly just watching it. This is an odd film, worth seeing for Oshima's special visual style. But I cannot recommend it as a good film. The script really destroys the whole production.
Joe
Ground breaking, the aptly-named Gohatto ("Taboo") tackles the issue of homosexuality in the armed forces. Set in feudal Japan in the 19th Centruy, the story centres around a militia group of Samurai, a professional and single-minded set of men who live together in their aim to serve their masters' wishes. Into this world enters Samurai Sozaburo Kanowho, a talented young trainee who causes ripples (!) through this once staid world. The young man is porcelain faced and has an androgynous look that stirs the Samurais repressed desires. One by one all the male adherent fall for his feminine charms, some openly flaunting their desire for him whilst others try to suppress it.Darkly humorous, this brilliantly by-steps all and any clichés over gay issues, and the audience is kept guessing over our lead man's aims. However, it's no comedy, and the acting and style is purely a period piece. As it's the old Samurai world, violence is unflinching whenever it occurs and testosterone is always at its peak in this world.The story itself is intriguing and fascinating, where the the samurais' reticence over their emotions (let alone homosexuality) is the main Taboo that is being toyed with here. However, there can be too many characters at points and it can get all a bit confusing. I felt the film ended a little too abruptly and could have padded out a bit longer, but it was still interesting. There is no real resolution to the story.Performances are excellent, especially from Beat Kitashi Takano as the "lieutenant" in the samurai stable, whilst the settings capture the beauty of the feudal Japanese world. Direction and camera work are also great.To my surprise, this is a film I very much enjoyed. It toys with the genres, and doesn't make you feel uncomfortable at any point. It mashes subtlety with humour and violence quite well, and most will enjoy. It's multi-character referencing on first viewing can make it difficult to follow, but given an opportunity most will be entertained by this wonderfully intelligent number.
MARIO GAUCI
Oshima's last film to date is only the fourth of his that I've watched - following IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES (1976), EMPIRE OF PASSION (1978) and, more recently while in Hollywood, DEATH BY HANGING (1968) - and it's arguably one of his strongest and most compelling efforts, proving that his considerable talent didn't dissipate with the passage of time.As is the director's fashion and, indeed, the title itself would suggest, the film treats the controversial issue of homosexuality in a school for samurai during the 1900s. Thankfully, though, there's no graphic display of sexuality here - as was the case with the pornographic REALM; what we do get, however, is an exquisitely photographed recreation of the period (utilizing red and blue filters for maximum effect), set to a simple but evocative score from Ryuichi Sakamoto.The cast is surprisingly headed by Takeshi Kitano under his acting nom-de-plume of "Beat" Takeshi and, as always, he delivers a quietly impressive performance; the fight scenes, while not particularly spectacular apart from a couple of bloody beheadings, create the required tension and certainly keep one watching. The latter stages of the film, which involves a hunt for the serial killer of homosexual samurai(!), provide a welcome touch of mystery and lead to an unexpected but wholly satisfying conclusion.
Claudio Carvalho
Ïn 1865, in Kyoto, in a period of fights among different clans, Sozaburo Kano (Ryuhei Matsuda) and Hyozo Tashiro (Tadanobu Asano) join a samurai legion to be trained as warriors. The beauty of the manipulative Kano sexually attracts the other men, including high ranking commanders, and he becomes lover of Tashiro."Gohatto" is a weird movie for westerns like me, who are not familiarized with Japanese culture. However, it is a beautiful movie, with a stunning music score and a wonderful photography. Although I have not completely understood the plot, specially the conclusion of the story, I found this movie very intriguing and I liked it. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Tabu" (Taboo")
AD
