"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.
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.