Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

My only prior taste of director Kenji Mizoguchi was Ugetsu, which I basically liked but would be very selective in recommending, because it's pretty sad. Well, in my experience, directors never stop at just one sad movie. I'd had my warning.

The title character is the villain and doesn't get nearly the most screen time. The main focus is on two siblings, Zushiō (male) and Anju (female). Their troubles begin when their father, a governor, is dismissed and exiled for showing too much compassion. When they are 13 and 8, respectively, slavers capture them and their mother, sending the latter elsewhere. Most of the film is set 10 years later, by which time Zushiō has lost all hope and a good deal of virtue. But after Anju hears evidence from a new slave that their mother is alive on Sado Island, she gives serious consideration to a risky escape attempt....

For those who needed it, let this be a reminder that slavery used to be common all over the world. In feudal Japan, even aristocrats taken via deceit and force rather than purchase appeared to have no legal recourse. Only the Minister of the Right has any imperially recognized authority over slavery on private property, and in this case, the Minister approves Sanshō.

Only later did I learn that the story traces to folklore. Traditionally, Anju would be the older sib, but Mizoguchi had his sights set on Kyōko Kagawa. One upshot of this is an increase in the already high tragic factor.

Yeah, once you've had 10 years of slavery, even if more merciful in some ways than in Woman in the Dunes, there can't be a happy plot overall. There is some measure of victory on multiple counts, to be sure; it could easily have ended worse. But the good guys can take little comfort in it.

If you can accept something so depressing, then you should appreciate the quality of the filmmaking. The adult actors, at least, do a fine job, by the highly emotive standards of Kurosawa-era Japan. The score, whose composition Mizoguchi did not interfere with at all, works well. And cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa does nice, smooth tracking shots.

I may or may not check out more of Mizoguchi's acclaimed features. I will remember his name and be careful not to watch when I'm in no mood for him.