A Story from Chikamatsu

Lovers on the run in A Story from Chikamatsu

Kenji Mizoguchi's A Story from Chikamatsu, from 1954, is a masterpiece to rival most of his postwar output, therefore it is near the pinnacle of cinematic achievement. Most memorable is Hiskazu Tsuji's production design, particularly the set design for scroll-master Ishun's home factory which dominates the mise en scene of the film's first section. Ishun's residence, a bourgeoise dream of elegance and workplace efficiency, is a series of grids and mazes that serve to entrap its inhabitants. Mizoguchi's camera utilizes the building's sliding doors to create a field of action amidst three grounds: fore, middle and back. This 3D effect magnifies the sense of societal enclosure that Mizoguchi's doomed lovers must escape from.

They do so by traveling to the country where they can drift for awhile in nature. When they finally consummate their relationship, they tryst in a shed filled with hay which Mizoguchi films as if it were a moonlit bower. Away from the grid, they can indulge apart from the city and the machinations of men. The tragic ending, which is a departure from the source material, reflects the fatalism of Mizoguchi. However, the lovers' fate is triumphant. They go to their end happily because of their shared love, but also because they have found self-knowledge. A Story from Chikamatsu is a powerful rejoinder to Japan's stifling authoritarianism.

Spoiler alert...The US title: The Crucified Lovers