Inscrutable psychology of the sensei

Hardly surprising perhaps, notwithstanding the director's reputation, that this 1955 effort has taken so long to reach our shores, concerned as it is with some peculiarly Japanese preoccupations likely to strike Westerners as decidedly odd, not to say morbid.

The action is set primarily in 1912,the end of the Meiji era, with flashbacks to a period 15 or more years earlier. The protagonist appears to be haunted by the death of his former close friend and fellow student, Kaji, in 1897. As early as the opening credits we are made aware of the likelihood of suicide being one of the main topics of concern, and one has to remember how the Japanese consider this to be an adequate and indeed appropriate response to failure or perceived dishonour. The key is obviously going to be finding out how and why Kaji died, and the explanation for this is inordinately delayed, and even then the motivations of all concerned are ultimately far from clear. One would doubtless understand more if a) one were Japanese and b) had read the novel on which the film is based. One is left in two minds as to whether the principal character is despicable or merely misguided. Another unexplained factor is the apparent mysterious affinity between the student,Hoiki, and the protagonist, and here the dates are important, as Hoiki is presumably just old enough to be a reincarnation of the dead Kaji, although this is never overtly mentioned.

Having mentioned the difficulties, it is only fair to say that the film is immaculately photographed, and despite several longueurs interesting to watch.