A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (aka Hishu monogatari) (1977) [Radiance Films] 

Available now from Radiance Films

A golf player finds herself in the spotlight with all that entails: Men using her, fame becoming an issue, jealous neighbors, and a stalker.  

Written by Atsushi Yamatoya based on a novel by Ikki Kajiwara, and directed by Seijun Suzuki, this sad tale of success, love, and loss is a masterpiece of using emotions and making the viewer feel them with the protagonist who is going through a roller coaster of them. The writing here is solid and the direction knows what they are doing, giving the viewer a film that is fully realized with many elements at play without ever feeling overwrought or overdone. There is a lot in here that’s for sure, but it all feels like it makes sense within the universe created here.  

The main part of the film here is the lead performance by Yoko Shiraki as Reiko. She shows the character’s emotions with nuance and natural talent, she takes the character through her arc in a believable manner, giving her more than what the story requires, giving her humanity through feelings and nuance, through body language as much as through her lines that she delivers perfectly, she’s on point throughout the film, making the character feel like she’s a part of her. Joining her are a few men, a few women, and child. The film here is about her and it is clear. The characters around her are all about using her (except for the child for obvious reasons) and the cast playing them do so in a way that makes the viewer dislike them heavily. There is something in their performances, something that makes the viewer want to see less of them and more of her which is likely the goal here, making them into a cast that works well for the story and for the lead while working against her character. The casting here is very well done in that these folks play their parts quite well, so positive or negative effect.  

The cinematography here is by Masaru Mori and fits the film perfectly. The work here is done to create a world where sadness overtakes happy moments quite often. The look of the film plays between careful happiness and controlled sadness, something that reflects in the images created by Masaru Mori which in turn add to the emotions and feelings of the film. The editing by Akira Suzuki works with these images beautifully well, allowing scenes to breath and take their time without going overly long. The work done with editing here is just right for the film.  

A Take of Sorrow and Sadness is a masterpiece of emotions, showing a woman trying to live her best life while attracting the wrong kind of people who want to take some of her shine for themselves and dull her crown. She’s the center of everything and the performance by Yoko Shiraki brings her to life beautifully. The film as a whole gives so much on the emotion front and lets the viewer really get involved without forcing anything.  

This new release from Radiance Films gives the film its space and gives it the capacity to be itself. The high-definition transfer looks great and the audio sounds right. The extras aren’t particularly numerous, but the features included here are good. The most interesting of the few is the new interview with Kunihiko Ukai and th audio commentary by Samm Deighan.  

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