Year: 1959
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Every once in a while I stumble across a film that is intriguing in plot but very obscure, so obscure in fact that there are almost no reviews on the internet for the film and it doesn't seem to be on any "greatest" films list, despite being a truly "great" film. German filmmaker Dorris Dorrie's Nobody Loves Me certainly falls under this category; describe the film to any cinephile and about 90% will not have heard of it. Another film that lands in the category is Kinoshita's incredible Snow Flurry.
In this film a woman gives birth to a child, after surviving the double suicide pact she made with her lover. We watch this child and his mother grow older, but seemingly unable to escape the tragedies of his mother's past.
Kinoshita's great picture is an enormous puzzle; its non linear plot can prove to be a little bit confusing, but once you find out where you are in the story, it can be quite simple. Snow Flurry is quite a tearjerker; a great tragedy about a shamed family that struggles to get through their daily lives because of a seedy past. The boy's own name is a guilty reminder of the incident, which will haunt him for the rest of his life despite having nothing to do with it.
Snow Flurry examines cruelty of all kinds; the cruel nature of love, the cruel nature of Japanese tradition and the cruel nature of suicide. It transforms a simple idea into a complex narrative, filled with complicated characters who wish to be free from shame and humiliation. Each of dialogue is necessary to create the tense and gloomy atmosphere of the film, each shot is more heartbreaking than the last. While I found the situation a bit difficult to comprehend, because I am far removed from that culture, I still found it quite powerful.
In conclusion, Kinoshita's masterpiece is not for the weak of heart. It is one of the most sad yet sincere films I have ever seen. Perhaps at times it can seem a little too melodramatic, but you will be so entranced by the story unfolding before your eyes that you may not notice. It is a film that should be watched many times, if you can sustain your tears until the end. Praise it! 4.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment