Greetings fellow Kurosawa enthusiasts. I presume most of you, just as I, have arrived here as part of your journey through the career of one of cinema's prodigal sons. It has been quite a ride, has it not? Anywho, after traversing undeniable landmarks, we are now reaching out. Unfortunately, Scandal is not the under-appreciated gem we were hoping to snag. Rather, it seems we were just rooting around the bottom of the Kurosawa barrel. The master's trademarks are present, but this is Kurosawa at his worst, mired in a sea of squishy sentimentality. Scandal is rendered pedestrian by a slew of superior contemporaries, and for Kurosawa, this is a disappointment.
Scandal is a critique of yellow journalism in post war Japan. Our protagonist Ichiro Aoye, played by legend Toshiro Mifune, is a painter wrongly accused of engaging in an affair with popular singer Miyako Saijo (Yamaguchi). The singers role is largely a throw away part, but Mifune is enjoyable as always. A motor cycle riding rebel who revels in his unabashed abrasiveness, this was a part conceived and reserved for exactly one man. The exaggerated movement, furious scratching, I would not cite this as one of his best performances, but it at least highlights why Kurosawa loved this man. Aoye, who is dead set on extracting some kind of atonement from the libelous rag, forms a partnership with lawyer Otokichi Hiruta (Takashi Shimura). This failure would normally be kicked to the curb, but Aoye is won over by the lawyers crippled daughter (Katsuragi). What a character. Shimura has proved nobility and grace in masterpieces, but his bug-eye queerness here is unique. Hiruta's daughter, however, is a recycled narrative disaster. This Tiny Tim want makes Scandal a mawkish joke. Aoye becomes embarrassingly incompetent and Hiruta blandly pathetic. Both superior characters are brought down by this saccharine mistake. I found the ending unpredictable simply because I could not believe that Kurosawa would turn to such clichés.
Sigh. I really do want to like this movie more. Laudable acting, and Kurosawa's attributes mostly carry the wishy-washy plot. The blocking is sublime. Not of the usual large group shots, just geometric arrangements of trios, quartets. Veterans will also note the movement and editing we have grown to love. However, this lesson in cinematic style is insufficient. I can name a slew of 50's Hollywood movies based on yellow journalism that make Scandal look greenhorn. The courtroom scenes in the last act are also derivative. It would be disingenuous to recommend this movie with so many similar alternatives. If Hollywood is not to your taste look to Masaki Kobayashi. That director was a master of scathing commentary. I think anything more than liking Scandal is settling. Scandal is not a waste of time for those finishing the complete Kurosawa filmography, but that is a sad endorsement.
Scandal is a critique of yellow journalism in post war Japan. Our protagonist Ichiro Aoye, played by legend Toshiro Mifune, is a painter wrongly accused of engaging in an affair with popular singer Miyako Saijo (Yamaguchi). The singers role is largely a throw away part, but Mifune is enjoyable as always. A motor cycle riding rebel who revels in his unabashed abrasiveness, this was a part conceived and reserved for exactly one man. The exaggerated movement, furious scratching, I would not cite this as one of his best performances, but it at least highlights why Kurosawa loved this man. Aoye, who is dead set on extracting some kind of atonement from the libelous rag, forms a partnership with lawyer Otokichi Hiruta (Takashi Shimura). This failure would normally be kicked to the curb, but Aoye is won over by the lawyers crippled daughter (Katsuragi). What a character. Shimura has proved nobility and grace in masterpieces, but his bug-eye queerness here is unique. Hiruta's daughter, however, is a recycled narrative disaster. This Tiny Tim want makes Scandal a mawkish joke. Aoye becomes embarrassingly incompetent and Hiruta blandly pathetic. Both superior characters are brought down by this saccharine mistake. I found the ending unpredictable simply because I could not believe that Kurosawa would turn to such clichés.
Sigh. I really do want to like this movie more. Laudable acting, and Kurosawa's attributes mostly carry the wishy-washy plot. The blocking is sublime. Not of the usual large group shots, just geometric arrangements of trios, quartets. Veterans will also note the movement and editing we have grown to love. However, this lesson in cinematic style is insufficient. I can name a slew of 50's Hollywood movies based on yellow journalism that make Scandal look greenhorn. The courtroom scenes in the last act are also derivative. It would be disingenuous to recommend this movie with so many similar alternatives. If Hollywood is not to your taste look to Masaki Kobayashi. That director was a master of scathing commentary. I think anything more than liking Scandal is settling. Scandal is not a waste of time for those finishing the complete Kurosawa filmography, but that is a sad endorsement.