Probably less of a political allegory than it's made out to be in several reviews I've read, although Oshima's jaundiced view of Japanese society does come through loud and clear. To me it was more of a human story, seen through the eyes of the childlike innocent Masuo, about the strange and fascinating relationships that develop within a powerful, patriarchal, and (literally) incestuous family. The movie starts out with a brief conversation about what it means to be a relative, "just someone you see at weddings and funerals", which reveals itself to be deeply ironic. The narrative largely unfolds around a series of family ceremonies in which the lives of central character, Masuo, and his cousins Ritsuko and Teramichi intertwine thickly and darkly. Much has been said about the famous scene in which Masuo is made to go through with a wedding to an absent bride (featuring the tallest wedding cake ever seen on film), but for me the most memorable scene was when Grandfather gives Aunt Satsuko to grandson Teramichi to initiate him, as Masuo, who is obsessed with her, looks on. Akiko Koyama as Satsuko becomes an otherworldly being before our eyes as she gently directs the process. One of the most perfect and beautiful sex scenes I've seen. In the end it is masterfully echoed in a scene between Masuo and Ritsuko, but with a disturbingly different connotation -- actually referring back to young Masuo's belief that he can hear the cries of the baby brother he says was buried alive when he and his mother fled Manchuria. Like most or all Oshima films, The Ceremony goes off on tangents, backwards and forwards in time, from realism to hyper-reality, and drama to comedy (particularly with a certain nicely/oddly placed spurting-blood effect), and maybe doesn't hold together as well as some of his other work, but it's definitely ambitious, brilliantly acted, brimming over with ideas, wise, bleak and despairing but also playful and darkly comedic.
8 Reviews
a Japanese high middle class clan after the 2nd world war
fc-yml12 July 2006
I have seen this film in the late eighties, together with other Oshima's movies and I could collect only a vague impression of exoticism. This before I visited Japan, where I currently live.
I have seen it again last night and I can confirm that "Gishiki" portrays some of the most specific aspects of the Japanese culture. It is a movie deeply ingrained with the rebellion against traditional culture and family, which is typical of the late sixties-early seventies, not only in Japan, but also in Europe. The same can be said of the use of sexuality as a powerful device to offset the established values.
The powerful Sakurada clan is brought to ruin by the same force that keeps it together, the powerful grandfather. This happens in a sequence of rigidly choreographed family reunions, in occasions of funerals and weddings spanning several years following the end of the world. In this sense the world of the Sakuradas is so traditional that many scenes could be set in medieval Japan, with minor modifications in the dialogs and costumes. Ritual suicides and uncompassioned sex are recurring estranging events which follow and precede these ceremonies.
At the end what has been taken away from the protagonist is his very childhood, and hence his possibility to exist as a human being.
I have seen it again last night and I can confirm that "Gishiki" portrays some of the most specific aspects of the Japanese culture. It is a movie deeply ingrained with the rebellion against traditional culture and family, which is typical of the late sixties-early seventies, not only in Japan, but also in Europe. The same can be said of the use of sexuality as a powerful device to offset the established values.
The powerful Sakurada clan is brought to ruin by the same force that keeps it together, the powerful grandfather. This happens in a sequence of rigidly choreographed family reunions, in occasions of funerals and weddings spanning several years following the end of the world. In this sense the world of the Sakuradas is so traditional that many scenes could be set in medieval Japan, with minor modifications in the dialogs and costumes. Ritual suicides and uncompassioned sex are recurring estranging events which follow and precede these ceremonies.
At the end what has been taken away from the protagonist is his very childhood, and hence his possibility to exist as a human being.
The category is dyfunctional families. And the winner is...
private-905052 May 2021
Nagisa Oshima, Japanese cinema's enfant terrible, introduces us to a dangerously nuclear family of alleged war criminals, communists, sex offenders and radical right-wingers, plus a former baseball pitcher and a katana-wielding cop thrown in apparently just for the sheer hell of it. Together, they comprise a mutual aberration society that milks dry the psychic stress and anguish of weddings and funerals. Is their shock-horror behavior offer convincing criticism of postwar Japanese society? Oshima leans into exploitation to score his points, but the net result sometimes smacks of "Mondo Cane" shockumentaries.
Thankfully, there are built-in safety valves when incest, loathing and degradation turn from dark to jet black. That's when some characters break out in honest laughter over their extended family's antics. In any case, it's a fine and foreboding warmup for Oshima's legendary topper, "In the Realm of the Senses."
Thankfully, there are built-in safety valves when incest, loathing and degradation turn from dark to jet black. That's when some characters break out in honest laughter over their extended family's antics. In any case, it's a fine and foreboding warmup for Oshima's legendary topper, "In the Realm of the Senses."
Darkness, trauma, misfortune
kurtralske15 June 2020
A boy experiences traumas during WWII (which we don't see), and the subsequent 25 years of his life are a continuation of those traumas. Oshima skillfully depicts Japan's post-war evolution, and the ways the dark secrets of the past live on within the present. Gishiki is by no means an enjoyable film: the main character experiences nothing but losses, misfortunes, and humiliations. But this is a dark truth of life: anyone who lives long enough accumulates losses and failures, and for some, perhaps everything else is overtaken. In the end, the main character is left alone with nothing except his lost dreams and his endlessly repeating traumas. A very sad film, but one I'm glad to have seen.
The Ceremony (1971)
mevmijaumau22 August 2015
The Ceremony (or, perhaps more accurately, Ceremonies) is often considered to be one of the finest works by Japanese director Nagisa Oshima, produced for the 10th anniversary of the Art Theatre Guild studio. The film is mainly told in flashbacks, recounting the familial tale of the rigid Sakurada clan and the lengths they go to in order to preserve their traditions, going as far as over the bodies of the clan's own members.
Like always, Oshima doesn't stray back from pushing his political messages in the most unsubtle ways possible. The Ceremony satirically criticizes Japanese xenophobia and inbreeding to preserve "the purity of the family line", the decay of large families who use their traditions as a facade, and the ceremonies themselves losing all merit even if they represent the only thing keeping the families together. The interesting thing is how restrained the film starts out, with the same long takes, polite characters, camera stillness and reservedness, similar to the movies of Yasujiro Ozu, who was often criticized for romanticizing the Japanese society. Here, through using the same cinematic techniques as Ozu, Oshima subverts the common ideals and slowly unravels the web of incest and murder running through the clan, through excessive ceremonies. The sight of characters sitting attached to the floors, often turned towards the center of the frame occupied by the strict grandfather, has never looked so sinister.
The Ceremony has some truly fascinating moments, like the pillow sex scene, the bride-less wedding ceremony or the ending itself, all of which are a real punch to the gut. Unfortunately, even though the movie is very emotionally powerful (also thanks to the marvelous Toru Takemitsu score), the plot itself is very hard to follow and the tangled web of family relations can be confusing. It's like you're suddenly thrown into episode #754 of a random soap opera and have to quickly adjust to what's going on. Thankfully, while you're never really guaranteed to catch everything that's going on, the movie does become a whole lot clearer as it progresses.
One more thing - the opening credits last forever! I also find it interesting how they dedicate several screens to list the companies who provided the sake, kimonos, the tallest wedding cake ever, and other items from the film. I've never seen a movie this old that has credits like these displayed so prominently.
Like always, Oshima doesn't stray back from pushing his political messages in the most unsubtle ways possible. The Ceremony satirically criticizes Japanese xenophobia and inbreeding to preserve "the purity of the family line", the decay of large families who use their traditions as a facade, and the ceremonies themselves losing all merit even if they represent the only thing keeping the families together. The interesting thing is how restrained the film starts out, with the same long takes, polite characters, camera stillness and reservedness, similar to the movies of Yasujiro Ozu, who was often criticized for romanticizing the Japanese society. Here, through using the same cinematic techniques as Ozu, Oshima subverts the common ideals and slowly unravels the web of incest and murder running through the clan, through excessive ceremonies. The sight of characters sitting attached to the floors, often turned towards the center of the frame occupied by the strict grandfather, has never looked so sinister.
The Ceremony has some truly fascinating moments, like the pillow sex scene, the bride-less wedding ceremony or the ending itself, all of which are a real punch to the gut. Unfortunately, even though the movie is very emotionally powerful (also thanks to the marvelous Toru Takemitsu score), the plot itself is very hard to follow and the tangled web of family relations can be confusing. It's like you're suddenly thrown into episode #754 of a random soap opera and have to quickly adjust to what's going on. Thankfully, while you're never really guaranteed to catch everything that's going on, the movie does become a whole lot clearer as it progresses.
One more thing - the opening credits last forever! I also find it interesting how they dedicate several screens to list the companies who provided the sake, kimonos, the tallest wedding cake ever, and other items from the film. I've never seen a movie this old that has credits like these displayed so prominently.
Surreal and wild satire
sharptongue6 March 2001
I hardly know where to start in describing this film. The story is told in flashback, as a conversation. From memory, there are about five flashback episodes, the longest covering the wedding of a young man, where the bride fails to show but the wedding proceeds. The young man continues the farce by attempting to have sex with a large pillow which he calls "darling".
The remainder of the film is just as weird, but I found it completely engrossing. Oshima appears to be attacking many aspects of Japanese modern culture with his scalpel-sharp satirical wit.
Not a film for everyone, but highly recommended nevertheless.
The remainder of the film is just as weird, but I found it completely engrossing. Oshima appears to be attacking many aspects of Japanese modern culture with his scalpel-sharp satirical wit.
Not a film for everyone, but highly recommended nevertheless.
A masterpiece
temrok92 January 2023
It's a mystery to me why Oshima, and especially his movie Ceremony ( although my personal favourite is Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence) doesn't get the recognition he deserves, among the greatest directors. Possibly because, apart for the famous In the realm of the senses, very few have watched his films. Ceremony, in my opinion, is his best film. It is extraordinary how he constructs the narration of this family saga, and how he makes it resonate with thoughts and feelings in every minute of it, putting in shame all of the more applauded asian family stories that became famous movies over the kast decades. But he also surpasses many acclaimed European directors of his time. Ceremony is an undisputed masterpiece that you watch shivering , a proof that cinema can be made out of pure magic!
A bit like watching a disturbed familys video recordings
Angel_Peter20 July 2019
I know a lot of people love this movie. For me it was not entirely successful. This is not one ceremony but many seen without any connection.
I saw a lot of events but I did not really feel I got to know any of the characters better and their motivation for their behavior. In fact I felt I knew as little about them when the movie ended as when it started.
I am not the big flashback fan for a starter. But some of the baseball things were contradicted from others as never happened. Well I have no idea now really if it did or was just made up. but again how much was then made up? What did really happen and what did not. For me not a great premise for a movie. This could as well have been all a dream.
Maybe I missed something because of the subtitles maybe not were adequate, but I doubt they could have missed that much. It did not help that I did not feel connected to any of the characters. At the same time I think their actions did not feel connected to other episodes in the paper thin story line.
I think I have seen many better and more subtle Japanese movies that were critical to society. This is not one for my collection
I saw a lot of events but I did not really feel I got to know any of the characters better and their motivation for their behavior. In fact I felt I knew as little about them when the movie ended as when it started.
I am not the big flashback fan for a starter. But some of the baseball things were contradicted from others as never happened. Well I have no idea now really if it did or was just made up. but again how much was then made up? What did really happen and what did not. For me not a great premise for a movie. This could as well have been all a dream.
Maybe I missed something because of the subtitles maybe not were adequate, but I doubt they could have missed that much. It did not help that I did not feel connected to any of the characters. At the same time I think their actions did not feel connected to other episodes in the paper thin story line.
I think I have seen many better and more subtle Japanese movies that were critical to society. This is not one for my collection
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