Japan: Film: Shinoda Masahiro

A truly remarkable director with a formal visual style that comes close to the theatrical, Shinoda is an artist who imbues even genre works with his unmistakable classy touch. Here's the list of Shinoda films in my collection.

The Films

The films are arranged in chronological order, with a brief description and a rating (1-10). Some movies have more extensive reviews, which (WARNING) reveal substantial parts of the plot. I intend these primarily as a reminder for myself, and a basis for discussion with others. If you want to maintain the suspense, don't read the long reviews until after you've seen the film.

Assassination (1964)

Widely considered Shinoda's masterpiece, this jidai-geki is set in the waning days of the Tokugawa bakufu. The story, told non-linearly through flashbacks and from multiple perspectives, is about Kiyokawa Hachiro, a talented swordsman and ronin of low birth whose frustrated ambition to join the ruling samurai class turns him against the shogunate. When an ill-advised flash of anger leads him to commit murder which leads to the death of his lover, his noble patriotic schemes turn into a nihilistic pursuit of power. Rated 9/10.

Samurai Spy (1965)

An odd chambara film set in the days before the Fall of Osaka with a complicated story involving at least three spy rings with plenty of love and betrayal to spice up the occasional blood-letting. Somewhat unremarkable by Shinoda standards, yet executed with enough visual gusto to merit repeated viewings. Rated: 6/10.

Double Suicide (1969)

Based on Chikamatsu's The Love Suicide at Amijima, this is a stunning rendition of the 1720 Osaka tragedy. The conflict between emotions and duty occasioned by the love between a family man and a courtesan is portrayed with the conventions of bunraku theater. A masterpiece. Rated: 10/10.

Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (1975)

An ostensible ghost-story, this stunning film delivers an ambivalent commentary about the role of women in the social hierarchical order. A man ambushes travelers in the mountains only to find himself under the spell of a woman he abducts. She uses her sexuality to dominate him and force him into a bizarre existence that denies him his nature. Rated: 8/10.