Mujô (1970)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 140 minuten
Alternative titles: This Transient Life / This Passing Life / 無常
Country:
Japan
Directed by: Akio Jissôji
Stars: Ryô Tamura, Michiko Tsukasa and Kotobuki Hananomoto
IMDb score:
7,6 (1.523)
Releasedate: 8 August 1970
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Mujô plot
As a result of her incestuous relationship with her brother, Yuri becomes pregnant. She calls a house servant in love with her, with whom she also had a fling, as the father. The man marries her and she has the child.
Reviews & comments
-fal
-
- 2028 messages
- 2291 votes
Very fascinating and exciting film. I almost completely agree with Tayama's message. Almost, because I thought the soundtrack was very strong. Baroque, (violin, harpsichord, both solo or together), a bit of avant-garde, abstract sounds (No?), meaningful concrete sounds (including children playing, crow, airplane, clock) and a lot of silence.
I was less happy with the image quality of my DVD (transfer or DVD9->5 conversion), which was too dark, causing details to disappear or me sometimes looking at ugly blocks of black.
Those who like cinema that tends towards abstraction can also take a look at films by Yoshishige Yoshida from the second half of the 1960s. Where Jissoji mainly paints in black-gray tones, Yoshida's work is dominated by white-gray. Yoshida is aesthetically stricter, almost mathematical, and more refined, while Jissoji is more dark and dynamic in image and atmosphere.
The film held me captive for the entire running time (only a single scene seemed too long) and struck a chord in me that transcended the psychological/social issue, but on which I can't really put my finger. Things, trees, weathered stone statues, spaces (or lack thereof) played an important role. Great final scene too.
Now another nice DVD release...
Translated from Dutch · View original
wibro
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- 11590 messages
- 4098 votes
Fascinating film that still haunts me, not least because of the very fascinating philosophical discussion between Masao and the monk Ogino, in which the latter was given considerable doubt. In Masao's philosophical explanation I clearly recognized something of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, especially when it comes to the concepts of heaven and hell, nothingness and of course morality. “There is no morality, all morality is herd animal morality,” said Nietzsche. And according to Masao, there was nothing unnatural in his incestuous relationship with his sister.
So much for the philosophy I get from this film. I also think this is a beautiful film visually, not least because of the very beautiful erotic scenes that you often encounter in Japanese films of the sixties and seventies. Also check out the films of Kôji Wakamatsu and to a lesser extent the recently deceased Seijun Suzuki.
Until recently, I more or less ignored the Japanese cinema of the 1960s and focused mainly on the Japanese films of the 1990s and this century. Completely unjustified. This film has proven that.
4.0* with chance of increase.
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