"I have seen 'Sansho' only once, a decade ago, emerging from the cinema a broken man but calm in my conviction that I had never seen anything better; I have not dared watch it again, reluctant to ruin the spell, but also because the human heart was not designed to weather such an ordeal." - Anthony Lane, film critic The New Yorker
In Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff, a governor is exiled for being too nice to the peasants, but this isn't his story. Rather, it's about his family who try to rejoin him, living at the whims of the kindness or cruelty of strangers. The cruellest is Sansho, a slave master who gets his hands on the two kids and tests their ability to follow in their merciful father's footsteps, both literally and figuratively. Human pain is contrasted by beautiful cinematography, nature that doesn't care about the drama (and indeed seems to take a hand against humanity). Is mercy a singularly human trait? The much-heralded final shot is perhaps a reflection of the audience. According to our own attitudes, we might think Mizoguchi is telling us that world is made of cruelty, or that he is being merciful to us and the characters by panning away from their pain, or both, or more. But like most films that are about enduring hardship, my investment is limited, and I'm not entirely convinced the film delivers on the quality of mercy it stresses so much, or something gets lost in translation, perhaps.
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Paul
"I have seen 'Sansho' only once, a decade ago, emerging from the cinema a broken man but calm in my conviction that I had never seen anything better; I have not dared watch it again, reluctant to ruin the spell, but also because the human heart was not designed to weather such an ordeal." - Anthony Lane, film critic The New YorkerTheGallopingGhost
That Anthony Lane quote is spot on. Watch this when you have plenty of time to pay attention because you will probably never watch it again.UnEnfantPerdu
Oh Lord What have I just witnessed. Dont think I've seen anything as beautiful or as brutal.Adamov10
great great great filmDieguito
Brilliant movie!! Japanese honor culture is incredibleCamille Deadpan
I'm always crying with Mizoguchi's or Ozu's movies.Jumping Elephant
Thank you so much for the Anthony Lane quote! I feel compelled to see this now.Siskoid
In Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff, a governor is exiled for being too nice to the peasants, but this isn't his story. Rather, it's about his family who try to rejoin him, living at the whims of the kindness or cruelty of strangers. The cruellest is Sansho, a slave master who gets his hands on the two kids and tests their ability to follow in their merciful father's footsteps, both literally and figuratively. Human pain is contrasted by beautiful cinematography, nature that doesn't care about the drama (and indeed seems to take a hand against humanity). Is mercy a singularly human trait? The much-heralded final shot is perhaps a reflection of the audience. According to our own attitudes, we might think Mizoguchi is telling us that world is made of cruelty, or that he is being merciful to us and the characters by panning away from their pain, or both, or more. But like most films that are about enduring hardship, my investment is limited, and I'm not entirely convinced the film delivers on the quality of mercy it stresses so much, or something gets lost in translation, perhaps.Rohit
Some useful comments heregeorge4mon
good film, but there's a lot of overacting.nicolaskrizan
Great – I almost even forgot about the overacting typical of many Asian movies!http://1001movies.posterous.com/946