Gohatto
2000
Widely regarded as the greatest living Japanese director as well as one of the film world's foremost hierophants of transgression, Nagisa Oshima returns from a long hiatus with a film worthy of his reputation. Set in 1865 during the waning days of the Tokugawa shogunate, it focuses on an exotic young male beauty, Kano (Ryuhei .. Read more
| Starring | Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda, Tadanobu Asano, 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano |
|---|---|
| Director | Nagisa Oshima |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian, World Cinema |
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Gohatto
Widely regarded as the greatest living Japanese director as well as one of the film world's foremost hierophants of transgression, Nagisa Oshima returns from a long hiatus with a film worthy of his reputation. Set in 1865 during the waning days of the Tokugawa shogunate, it focuses on an exotic young male beauty, Kano (Ryuhei Matsuda), who has recently been recruited by the strict Shinsengumi samurai militia. He quickly becomes the lover of another recruit, Hyozo Tashiro (Tadanobu Asano), and, although homosexuality is officially verboten, Commander Kondo (Yoichi Sai) seems to have adopted a don't-ask don't-tell policy. He has little choice, since the teenage wraith soon becomes the prime object of desire for half the militia. Jealousy threatens to erode the company's morale as the samurai engage in kendo swordplay for a shard of attention from the impassive Kano. Captain Hijikata (Takeshi Kitano), the most humane and aware of the samurai, struggles to maintain discipline while fighting against his own attraction to the youth. GOHATTO is a fascinatingly ambiguous exploration of the uncontrollable force of sexuality in a highly repressive military environment. The ravishingly otherworldly art direction by Yoshinobu Nishioka and insistently minimal score by Ryuichi Sakamoto are particularly notable.
| Starring | Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda, Tadanobu Asano, 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, Masato Ibu, Uno Kanda, Koji Matoba, Yoichi Sai, Masa Tommys |
|---|---|
| Director | Nagisa Oshima |
| Studio | MOMENTUM PICTURES |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 37 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Japanese |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 24 Feb 2003 Production year: 2000 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Like Claire Denis's Beau Travail, this is another variation on Herman Melville's allegorical novel Billy Budd, with its themes of authority, duty and homosexual repression in the military — here it's an elite samurai militia. Set in Kyoto in the mid-1860s and based on two semi-factual stories by Ryotaro Shiba, it is ostensibly a murder mystery. But in a darkly comic and highly stylised tale, notions of loyalty and the implications of an era passing matter more than militia captain Takeshi Kitano's investigation into the sinister events that surround handsome but androgynous samurai Ryuhei Matsuda. Marking Nagisa Oshima's return to cinema after a 13-year absence, the film is less graphic than his celebrated sexual allegory In the Realm of the Senses, but it's every bit as assured in its atmosphere and insight.
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"...TABOO is one of Oshima's finest films....Oshima has created a film of resilient, downright tensile strength that ends on a satisfyingly ironic note..."
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Most helpful member's review
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7 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Fascinated me
This movie fascinated me, never knew ideas and concepts could be so liberated in Japan during that era or any generation.
The fairy tale being told at the end was so romantic yet so many vital details were left un-stated. At the end of the film I was left with the concern of "Why must it always be a sin for someone to born with the gift of great beauty". -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Deadly jealousy kills samuri
I really enjoyed this film, both for its visual images and its understated examination of gay love between samuri. If I have a criticism it is the circumstantial nature of the evidence of the gay affairs that were going on. I can see that the director wanted to cultivate an aura of the mysterious about who fancied who but it did ring a bit of a false note with this viewer. The closed society of the samuri was well realised and largely in a studio setting. Good performances and a stunning final image.
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