My introduction to Keisuke Kinoshita's cinema was his 1958 film Ballad of Narayama. Though it does deserve the acclaim it has received, my own reaction towards the film was a bit cold. For my second film by Kinoshita, I chose one more typical of his oeuvre, A Japanese Tragedy, one of his most famous works, and with good reason. His opening montage of newsreel clips from post-war Japan immediately immersed me in this tragic melodrama. Kinoshita's use of documentary footage throughout the film lends it a sense of urgency, energy, and modernity. Unlike Ozu, Kinoshita was not afraid to shy away from politics, and attacks head-on the corruption and hypocricy that dominated the landscape of Japanese politics after the war. However, A Japanese Tragedy is first and foremost, a melodrama. The film focuses on Haruko Inoue, a single mother who has spent her life struggling to provide for her children, son Seiichi, and daughter Utako. But Seiichi and Utako have grown up, and are forging ahead with their own lives, and find their mother to be an inconvenience. In their defense, Haruko was not always the greatest mother, and spent much of her time enjoying the pleasures of various men instead of being a constant presence in her children's lives. Ultimately, it is the complex family dynamics on display that make this such a compelling watch. There is an honesty and tenderness underneath the theatrics, and a deep sense of sorrow. The emotions are augmented by Kinoshita's chiaroscuro lighting, deep focus shots, and sense of framing that lend the film a very real physical gravity. Unlike the typical Hollywood melodramas of the era, this is a very mature, and adult film, it does not gloss over uncomfortable subjects, and faces the demons that plague the society unafraid and directly. Though dismissed by critics during his lifetime, Kinoshita is one of the treasures of Japanese cinema.
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