Oceans of blood

 THRONE OF BLOOD (1957)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

"Throne of Blood" is pure nihilistic chaos. There is no morality, only the consummation of power by any means necessary. Violence is etched in every frame of this film, and it is also encouraged and understood as the only way. Ascension of power has no limits other than someone else vying for the same climb to the desired throne. 

Set in 1400's feudal Japan, this is Akira Kurosawa's theatrical, Noh-style of Shakespeare's bloody "Macbeth" except that the dialogue from the Bard is nonexistent - only the feeling and tone are somewhat present. The sets of the Spider's Web Castle, the sole visible impenetrable fortress of note, are spare, formally empty spaces with some noticeable painted directional stripes on the walls. One other section has dried blood on the wall. Aside from the castle, the outside forest is constantly drenched from rainy weather where the spirits reside, foretelling of prophecies. There is a white witch in a hut spinning a wheel speaking in almost otherworldly tones and foretelling that samurai warrior Washizu (a terrifying Toshiro Mifune) will eventually become Lord of the Northern Garrison. Furthermore, Washizu's childhood friend, Miki (Minoru Chiaki), will lead as Commander. As the witch continues speaking of prophecies, Washizu learns he will be Lord of Spider's Web Castle and Miki's son, Yoshiteru (Akira Kubo), will also ascend to being a lordship. Is this ascension easily obtained? Perhaps, since the current Lord of Spider's Web Castle, Tsuzuki (Takamaru Sasaki), later informs the samurai warriors of their predestined positions. 

What is deeply chilling is watching Washizu's wife, Asaji in the Lady Macbeth role (truly scary performance by Isuzu Yamada), who seems to foretell her own prophecies - that is to say, she persuades with incalculable conviction that Washizu needs to kill the current lord and blame it on the guards. Asaji never makes much eye contact with her husband and when she does, she resembles the ghostly witch. Asaji is also pregnant yet there is a stillborn death, and she slowly goes insane (at one point, she washes her hands of blood stains except there is no blood or water). 

"Throne of Blood" is chock full of atmosphere and impending dread with vicious rainstorms and immense fog. Kurosawa has a crafted a story of an endless cycle of violence steeped in superstition and fulfilled prophecies. Mifune's last stand in an ocean of deadly arrows is still one of the most thrilling and intense action scenes ever recorded on film. A stone cold masterpiece.

Early Ozu comedy

WHAT DID THE LADY FORGET? (1937)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

I love films that exist as observational pieces on family dynamics. Yasujiro Ozu made this his own dynamic, exploring complicated relationships between families with sometimes devastating results. "What Did the Lady Forget?" is his second sound film and is more comical than his later works yet there are nuggets of truth buried in its observations.

A wealthy professor of medicine, Dr. Komiya (Tatsuo Saito), needs precious time away from his overbearing wife, Tokiko (Sumiko Kurishima). The old man is about to play golf and then decides not, opting to have a drink at a Ginza bar known as the Cervantes Bar! Since his progressive teenage niece from Osaka is in town, Setsuko (Michiko Kuwano), she follows him to the bar and drinks and smokes (oh, these rebellious teens!)  Setsujo stands up to Tokiko, refusing to cater to her demands of not drinking since Tokiko sees her as too young. The doctor is more amused than upset at his niece, and they frequent together at the bar. Of course, Dr. Komiya cannot admit to being at the bar since he's supposedly playing golf and it is raining! Komiya can't escape his wife finding about his lies and it leads to a moment of him slapping his wife in the face that almost stops everything cold. 

At 71 minutes, "What Did the Lady Forget?" explores these characters though not with quite enough depth - it is more of a treatment that could've been expanded to a longer running time (note the running time of Ozu's later efforts). I did find it to be exquisitely made and consistently absorbing in its depiction of the interior lives of this family - most of it feels like a stage play though it reads as much more cinematic. Most memorable characters are Saito's doctor, who rubs his head when he is happy, and Kuwano's luminous Setsuko. "What Did the Lady Forget?" is not a bad place to start if you have never seen an Ozu film.