Patriotism (1966) User Reviews

an experience

[carinosamente · 8/10 · 26 February 2017]

make sure to watch the version with the new score by aaron embry. it's much more beautiful as the ambient music adds so much to the film where the older music made it seem dated which was unfortunate because the cinematography was so ahead of it's time.

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Blurs and obscures the differentiation between art and life

[ruedesursulines · 8/10 · 15 January 2006]

"Yûkoku", also known as "Patriotism" and "The Rite of Love and Death", is a definite must see for fans of the famed Japanese novelist, Yukio Mishima, deriving from his own novella. This is the story that anticipates and rehearses Mishima's own attempted coup d'etat and seppuku, an act which shocked the world just a few years after the production of the film.

Very austere and minimalist in its visual style, it demonstrates an indifference toward high production values in favor of an aesthetic purity similar to that achieved in Mishima's own written works. The film contains no spoken dialogue, using instead handwritten title cards to introduce each scene. There is, however, a musical accompaniment from Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" ("Liebestod", which some viewers may recognize from its use in Buñuel & Dali's classic Surrealist film "Un Chien Andalou").

The story is interesting in its comparison between the eros of the sex act and the intimacy of a suicide pact between lovers. The film also raises concerns with regard to the way in which ideals such as patriotism can possess minds and ultimately drive them to self-destruction in some circumstances.

While Mishima's talents as a writer far exceed his cinematic efforts, nevertheless, this film is very provocative and vividly dramatizes one of the author's most important short works.

Dress rehearsal...

[poe426 · 10/10 · 18 September 2012]

Having read Mishima's PATRIOTISM decades ago, I wondered how it could've possibly been made into a movie. The answer was embarrassingly simple: do it as a short. As lean as the author himself, PATRIOTISM gets straight to the point (no pun intended). The Noh stage is almost expressionistic in its starkness, and the final act is VERY hard to watch, especially when one realizes that what we're seeing here is a dress rehearsal for Mishima's own death (which affected me greatly as a kid: I saw the black and white magazine spread in LOOK or LIFE and found myself pondering the notion of choosing the moment and manner of one's own death). The DVD I saw included several interviews with Mishima (one in Japanese, with English subtitles, and a long audio interview in which Mishima answered questions in English). "We... imagine death, but I wonder if we're even really living," he says at one point. "There are no noble causes today. Democratic governments obviously have no need for noble causes. Yet, if one cannot find a value that transcends oneself, life itself, in a spiritual sense, is rendered meaningless..." He says, too, that "suicide represents sincerity." For those seeking possible reasons for his actions: one of his greatest fears was a fear of contracting Cancer. "I was born in the wrong era," he laments. "In order to be remembered, I must do something foolish."

Gore with Kitsch

[fowler-16 · 9/10 · 1 February 2007]

This is a beautiful black and white version of Yukio Mishima's short story, titled Patriotism in English. It depicts the love suicide of a Japanese lieutenant (of the pre-WWII Imperial Army) and his wife. Artfully staged and photographed, it was filmed without sound. There is an audio track of Wagner's Liebestod, but occasional dialogue is shown only as moving lips, and the basic story is conveyed by hand-written scrolls. The silence has a cool, distancing effect that plays well against the core violence of the piece. The lieutenant's hara-kiri is shown graphically--predicting Mishima's own death some four years later. The choice of the Libestod was a bit obvious as a bridge between Mishima's romantic fantasies and those of his equally theatrical German predecessor. This, and the predictable blood spatters, lend a touch of kitsch to this otherwise powerful film. I ordered this from Play-Asia.com, and got a two disc set. Both show the entire film, one with Japanese writing, and one with English scrolls substituted.

A visceral and stunning short film

[nimdok · 25 April 1999]

This film prophetically (Yukio Mishima committed suicide in 1970) and dramatically portrays the ritual suicide of a dishonored Japanese patriot. It's an extraordinary short watch but may be a bit intense for those who dislike graphic gore. I doubt I will ever forget the experience of having seen this.

Strange foreshadowing of art and life...

[joker-scar · 7/10 · 27 November 2017]

I "got into" the work of Yukio Mishima in the mid 1980's when Paul Schrader released his film about the author. As is the case with most films about a particular subject, a documentary was released on TV about the same time and was a very fascinating account of the man's life and work. In the doc they recounted this film he made in the mid 60's and I was anxious to see it. I am solely commenting on the English version of the film I have seen. As with 95% of all short films it has its pros and cons. The story is told in the style of Japanese No theater. I know very little of this art form so I cannot comment on whether the film adheres to the parameters of the medium, I will only comment on it as a film experience. CONS: As with most short films it is not emotionally engaging but very interesting to watch or rather look at. Meaning you are always aware you are watching the film and not lost in the experience of it. It is too long in parts, especially the title cards which are presented in a hand written scroll-like effect. It is very pretentious, but that is a given with most freshman filmmakers who do not attempt to make a popcorn-esque movie but an art film. But this "may" also be the effect of the No theater influence as well in this case. PROS: It is very well photographed in B&W with some stunning shots here and there. Very artistic in execution. It stars Mishima and he did consider himself an actor of sorts and did do many roles for others which did satisfy that thirst within himself. It is an interesting story that he wrote and a concept that was familiar within his writing and his own personal make-up. Some would say it bordered on obsession, which is the minefield most artists live and work in anyway. What is most interesting is the obsession with hara-kiri that Mishima had for most of his life and which is the main focus of the film. It also foreshadows his own death by this same means in 1970 which he consciously planned out/for in the later part of his life. As is with the artist, he had a very poetic concept of the ritual and presented it in the film as such. He also realized the very real aspect of the act of hara-kiri which is very bloody and watching the film one is shocked at how graphic it really is. This film was made in 1965-6 predating the 69' R rated WILD BUNCH famous for its blood soaked ending. In reality, the "poetic" side of the act that Mishima planned and which played out on November 25, 1970 did not happen. The military crowd he wanted to rally to his side (with the short inflammatory speech he gave) failed to do so and instead they heckled and shouted back at him. Having failed at that aspect he went inside and embarked on his own act of hara-kiri which also did not pay off with the poetic triumph he had hoped for. After disemboweling himself, not in one swift gesture as is the preferred way, he naturally struggled to complete the painful and bloody act. The second part of the act is that a man with a samurai sword is standing at the ready to cut off the head to end his suffering. His young male partner was assigned the task and had to hack a couple of times to complete his task leaving a bloody mess on the floor. Mishima had his dramatic ending but not in the fluid fashion he had anticipated. I am not from Asian descent but I fully understand the concept of the Bushido code. I have seen many US sailors interviewed which witnessed kamikaze attacks on their ships and they stated that it totally baffled them, not only at the time, which is understandable since it was a shocking and "new" way of battle, but even now decades later they cannot wrap their minds around will-fully killing themselves for their cause. They understood fighting for your country and dying in doing so but not committing outright planned out suicide attacks.

This of course was the glaring difference between Japan and the US during the war and which escalated the brutality between them. By the time of this film, that "romantic" militarism that Mishima clung and wished a return to, was simply a bad memory for most modern Japanese who wanted to put the war behind them. I understand the "falling on your sword" concept, painful though it is, but the kara-kiri method really tests not only ones willpower but also ones physical strength of cutting open your stomach from side to side. What I cannot understand is the gruesome side of it. Japanese art and way of life is basically so clean and methodical, which goes against the very bloody and messy affair that leaves the body in a "closed casket" situation. I loved the film and as a result began to read his novels and learn about his life and dramatic death which is interesting and even now decades after, still a taboo subject in Japan.

Graphic meditation on life death and honor

[dbborroughs · 9/10 · 7 July 2008]

(This review contains graphic spoilers) Only film directed by Yukio Mishima is a 30 minute story about honor and death.

Based upon one of his short stories Patriotism tells the story of a Captain involved in the 1936 coup against the Japanese government who is ordered to kill all of the conspirators. The Captain though involved in the planing did not take part out of deference to his wife. The conspirators never betrayed his part in in the plan. Unable to turn his back on his loyal friends he chooses to commit suicide as does his wife.

Brief graphic tone poem that was filmed on a Noh stage, it is felt by many as one of the numerous dress rehearsals for Mishima's own bloody end. Shot in a moody black and white with a sense of unreality that makes it very real, this is a fetishistic mediation on life, death and honor that effects the viewer in an extremely visceral way.(I will leave the viewer to get what he can from its sound and images).

Its a kick in the gut even before we get to the suicides as we are forced to think about honor and what it means to alive. The suicide, though filmed silent (the soundtrack is a scratchy record of European classical music)is so intense that one can almost hear the scream from Mishima's lips when he drives the blade into himself. I won't say anymore other than its drawn out and graphic in a way I've never seen before. (clearly there is a reason why those committing Seppuku are helped along by a friend who beheads them.) I was left shaken by the experience. I can not imagine how audiences in 1966 when this was made reacted when they saw it for the first time. I knew what was going to happen and it still unnerved me. I know I will be contemplating it for days to come.

I don't know what to say. It is a masterpiece that is weirdly overshadowed by its creators death and life. It is a haunting experience for those with a strong will.

PATRIOTISM aka THE RITE OF LOVE AND DEATH {Short} (Yukio Mishima &, uncredited, Masaki Dômoto, 1966) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 16 January 2014]

Infrequently, the esteemed "Criterion Collection" DVD label puts out a Short Subject as a stand-alone release (as opposed to comprehensive collections, such as the recently-referenced Jean Painlevé one and another devoted to the works of Stan Brakhage), albeit reasonably priced – for them – at a much lower-than-usual tier. A couple of these were notable films worthy of such a pedigree – Alain Resnais' fascinating (if necessarily harrowing) depiction of concentration-camp atrocities NIGHT AND FOG (1955) and Albert Lamorisse's charming (and Oscar-winning) THE RED BALLOON (1956; actually issued as a dual-movie edition with the same director's WHITE MANE {1953}, which I own but have yet to check out).

This one, then, was an odd choice for such a distinction: not only is it not that well-known, even to more-than-casual film-buffs (I, for one, was completely unaware of it!)…but, since it was a half-hour effort written, directed by and starring celebrated Japanese author Mishima, ideally it ought to have served as a great bonus feature on the same company's digital edition of Paul Schrader's semi-biopic MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1985; which, again, I do have a copy of but remains as-yet unwatched) – rather than ask potential buyers to fork out extra money for an additional disc! For the record, I had previously watched Kon Ichikawa's masterful rendition of Mishima's CONFLAGRATION (1958), as well as seen the author himself assume the lead role in Yasuzo Masumura's gangster thriller AFRAID TO DIE (1960); besides, I own other two adaptations of his work – THE MUSIC (1972), also by Masumura, and the Americanization of THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA (1976).

Anyway, what we have here is a Silent movie (itself divided into 5 chapters) – the narrative's progression described exclusively via the text (included on the DVD in either the original Japanese with accompanying English subtitles, as I opted to acquire it myself, or a ready-made English translation) on a scroll held in front of the camera! – involving the aftermath of a failed coup d'etat. A military officer (Mishima) is asked to execute the men responsible but, as they are his friends and colleagues, he becomes conflicted by this grave assignment (hence, the title is ironic): his understanding wife knows what this entails – he shirks his duty by committing ritual suicide on the eve of the appointed task (but not before having spent the night with his spouse), to be followed by the woman herself (who subsequently has nothing to live for)!

The double "seppuku" is quite graphically handled, with a generous display of blood and entrails 'tarnishing' the otherwise impeccable and spare monochromatic setting! The plot may bear similarities to the legendary (and oft-filmed, including an ill-advised brand-new version) saga of "The 47 Ronin"…but it had a chilling duplication in reality four years later when Mishima, himself a soldier with radical political beliefs, attempted an overthrow of authority and 'forced' (though some argue it was planned as such all along!) to take his own life when his 'noble' intentions left most of the witnessing 'brothers-in-arms' nonplussed and openly mocking! Talk of life imitating art!

Stunning though hard to see autobiographical film by poet

[Oswaldtherabbit · 9/10 · 27 October 2003]

This extraordinary short film combines a traditional Kabuki theatre style with very cinematic realism in the death scene; Only the use of Wagner's "Isolde's Liebestod" appears to be a bit over the top. If you know about Mishima's life story you will find this film to be a stunning pre-conception of things to come. Unfortunately public screenings outside Japan are forbidden due to a legal dispute.

Beautiful and Brutal

[aleksanderlucy · 9/10 · 22 February 2022]

This film is simply stunning, capturing perfect shot after perfect shot in stunning visuals that enrapture the viewer even as its ultimate brutality may be shocking. The simple stage set up of the Noh theature allowed for a minimalist composition focusing the viewer on the incense relationship between Reiko and the Lieutenant. The use of the eyes is also particularly striking as we only see the Lieutenant's eyes when he sheds his uniform to share a moment of final intimacy with Reiko. Then, when he puts his uniform on, they are briefly obscured again before they are shown under the bill of his hat - connected in that moment with Reiko to the end. The film romanticizes this ritual suicide without shying away from its grim truth. Reiko takes a moment to compose herself before joining her beloved, harking back to an almost Romeo and Juliet scene. She goes to great lengths to join him - straightening his arm and replacing his hat - before falling upon him in her own passing much like the prior scenes of their passionate sex. Finally, the shot pulls away as they are rejoined, together again and at peace, now transported to a Zen Garden with the mellifluous tones of the score lifting us away.

This morbid tale depicting seppuku as erotically charged is not a great film, but worth a watch for fans of Yukio Mishima's writing

[crculver · 5/10 · 29 April 2018]

In 1961, Yukio Mishima wrote a story titled "Patriotism" in which a soldier and his wife commit ritual suicide in the aftermath of a failed coup. The story was gruesomely prescient, for in 1970 Mishima himself committed hara-kiri after he and his private army failed to take over a military base and convince the army to restore imperial rule over Japan. In 1966, he adapted the short story as this short black-and-white film where he himself plays the doomed soldier, but in the wake of his death four years later, his widow was so dismayed that she ordered all copies be destroyed. After the turn of the millennium, however, the original negatives were rediscovered, giving audiences to discover this work by a troubled soul that is no great film, but perhaps a crucial part of Mishima's body of work.

A long text introduction in the form of a scroll unwound before the camera sets up the plot: the Ni Ni Roku coup, a real-life 1936 incident where some right-wing officers sought to oust certain bureaucrats and restore the emperor to full power, has failed. Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama was secretly part of the plot, but ultimately left out of the action because he had recently married. Now that the active members of the coup have been captured, Lt. Takeyama will be forced to execute them. To avoid this betrayal of his fellows and preserve his honour, Lt. Takeyama comes home and tells his young wife Reiko (Yoshiko Tsuruoka) that they must kill themselves that night. Without spoken dialogue (only some intertitles), the couple makes love one last time, then the lieutenant cuts his belly open, followed by his wife plunging a dagger into her throat. That is all there is to it, then the credits roll.

The peculiarity of the short story was that all of this was depicted in an overwhelmingly erotic fashion, with the actual suicides being almost a peak of sexual ecstasy. That is carried through into the film. The husband and wife's last lovemaking is shot essentially as soft porn. Then, the lieutenant's suicide is on one hand gory enough to make audiences faint: spluttering blood, intestines falling out, etc, but on the other hand, Mishima's sweaty gyrations before the camera are of a decidedly carnal bent.

The setting is the spare stage set of a noh drama, which lends a uniquely Japanese touch. Yet in the camera techniques, the editing, and the schmaltzy orchestral score, this is a surprisingly traditional film for something shot in 1966. Except perhaps for the nudity, it could easily have been made three decades before.

I must differ from other reviewers: this is not a masterpiece. Audiences will notice how flimsy the plot is, and how this "ritual of love and death" is essentially Mishima acting out his morbid fantasies for primarily his own enjoyment. For most cinephiles, this film can be safely missed. But for fans of Yukio Mishima's writing, this is an aside into filmmaking that sheds some light on his state of mind during a decade he produced several acclaimed works.

Not for all tastes and almost impossible to review...

[planktonrules · 2 November 2010]

This is a very hard movie to rate or even review, as it is so foreign. Now I don't mean 'foreign' because it's made abroad, but 'foreign' because the entire story, style and spirit of this short film is alien to many out there who are not from an older generation in Japan. The film is a Noh play that is entirely without dialog--just music, LOTS of intertitle cards explaining the situation and a couple going through a long and drawn out ritual suicide!! See what I mean?! This ain't a Spielberg or John Ford film!! Instead, it's horribly violent and disgusting to watch because it is so real. Yet, at the time of its release, the film was admired because it was a lesson in honor and fidelity! It all stems from a real incident in 1936 when an officer was ordered to execute his friends who had participated in an attempted coup. So, if your idea of fun is watching a couple slowly and silently disembowel themselves, then by all means watch it. After all, the cinematography is amazingly good and is one of the prettier black & white films I have seen and the music is lovely as they eviscerate themselves. Sadly, I had hoped that the short was instead an explanation of WHY the coup was attempted in the first place--now THAT would have been interesting.

Kids: Don't try this at home!

Yukio Mishima's fate

[freddyschmitz · 9/10 · 31 March 2021]

After the February 26 Incident an ill-fated coup d'état comitted by the Kodoha (Imperial Way Faction), a group of young radicals inside the imperial japanese army, a surviving lieutenant decides to commit Hara-Kiri out of shame for not having stood by his brothers in arms. He was excluded from the uprising because his fellow soldiers did not want him to leave his graceful, young bride a widow.

What follows is Yukio Mishima's clearest and most honest vision of his desired synthesis of eroticism and purity, discipline and beauty in death. He indulges in his ever present fascination with the physical and opens up, literally spills his guts in front of the audience. It all colludes into a fatalistic Todesromantik of brilliant intensity. The decision to love his wife one last time before he follows his path of a warrior aristocrat. Scenes of intimate and sincere erotic love. Then the slow and painful, yet endearing shots of his ritual suicide, conducted as calmly as circumstances permit it, displaying the highest level of discipline and manliness. The young bride following her lover into his death. In the background a paiting is hanging declaring "Wholesome sincerity".

Actions speak louder than word thus "Yukoku", based on a short story by Mishima, became his self-fulfilled prophecy when he actualized his art in a final act of pure devotion like his protagonist whom he portrayed. Life didn't imitate art, life became art for Mishima. In a final act of rebellion against the path japan (and the whole world) had taken Yukio Mishima chose his fate and ended his life through seppuku after trying to start a coup d'etat that he knew wasn't gonna happen.

Like the Kodo-ha who held japanese culture and spiritual purity supreme to the materialism of modernity, Mishima rose up to the currents of time and lost his life as a result upholding ideals he deemed higher than himself to his last breath. Did he die in vain?

Guts, Guts and more guts - spoiler - limited story line told

[vbarton-2 · 4/10 · 20 February 2007]

This silent b&w three reel 16mm film almost kept me from ever viewing another Japanese film (it was my 2nd viewed - excluding the Godzlilla et al). The story line is a typical Japanese honor story. The first reel covers the lead character's decision to perform Sepuku rather than betray his loyalty to the emperor or his military comrades. The 2nd reel has him and his wife making love before they end their lives. It's the last reel which is difficult to view. The black & white aspect of the film actually made it gorier to view. Don't eat before you see this as Mashima commits Sepuku in what would be considered a very honorable way. Fortunatly, I got over this and have seen many Japanese films since.

recently saw

[rebelfilmsltd · 1 July 2003]

Short film, i was suprised by the fact that apart from the music that it was silent. The lighting is beautiful and the film is made with obvious care and passion. The end of the film is in direct contrast to the rest with its very extreme imagry of the seppuku ritual, but altogether this film gets my vote as a very artisitc mood film.... A lot of film makers now should consider the use of that lighting!!!!!!!

Something's missing

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 19 November 2015]

"Yûkoku" is a 29-minute Japanese black-and-white short film and certainly among the country's most known short film, especially if we talk about live action. There is no spoken dialogue in here, so if you watch the version with English text, you will understand everything properly. The story is a double-edged sword (no pun intended). I personally did not really like it. I thought the intimacy between the 2 main characters was portrayed nicely and made this a very emotional watch for the first half. The actual suicide scenes did not do too much for me. Yukio Mishima wrote, co-directed and starred in this little movie. He died less than 5 years later from actual suicide, which gives the whole thing an awkward note. The best thing about this film is certainly the way the deep love between the 2 protagonists is displayed. No surprise Mishima's real wife wanted to ban this film and make it disappear, especially in a country like Japan, which is certainly not as open-minded when it comes to sexuality as many other countries are. Luckily for everybody who want to watch it, the movie survived. Still, I myself do not recommend it. I hoped it would be better.

Only for Mishima's fanatics

[rainking_es · 5/10 · 7 December 2006]

The contribution of Yukio Mishima to the Seventh Art was no big deal, but it does have one or two sequences that are really intense. His patriotic fever has its portrait in this elegy about sex and death, the suicide as an art or as an act of honor.

I recommend this one only for those that are fascinates by the figure of the Japanese writer.

*My rate: 5/10

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