JAPANESE THEATRE
In the 14th century, the culture of Japan began its grand theatrical tradition, starting with the mythic Noh, known for its deliberate movements and iconic mask. Kyogen for its short form comic relief. Progressing into the more well known Kabuki in the 16th century, which uses stylized performances and elaborate make-up; and bunraku, which is puppet theatre; among many others. All traditions exemplified the cultural, spiritual, social and gender archetypes of their times.
Continuing into the 20th century, Japan’s theatrical tradition absorbed various western traditions, ranging from Shakespearean drama to experimental and surreal visions.
While Japanese cinema rarely presents or adapts these traditional styles directly, their influence is keenly felt: from the traditional stories of theatre being adapted to film, to performance styles and visual cues finding their way onto the silver screen.
Significant Japanese directors like Akira Kurosawa, themselves fans of traditional Japanese theatre, produced several works incorporating their love of these stagebound forms into stunning works of cinematic art that we at the Calgary Cinematheque are proud to present.
The Calgary Cinematheque’s series on Japanese Theatre focuses on the key forms of Noh and Kabuki, and aims to show the history of the influence cross-culturally, of East and West in the cinematic lexicon.
Series Films
THRONE OF BLOOD (1957)
DIRECTED BY AKIRA KUROSAWA
NOVEMBER 18, 2021
With Throne of Blood, master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa transposed the formal elements of Noh theatre and William Shakespeare, and created one of his most acclaimed, gothic and powerful dramas. Kurosawa casts the iconic Toshiro Mifune as Samurai Lord Washizu. Led by a malevolent witch’s prophecy, and goaded by his viperous wife (the great Isuzu Yamada), Washizu plunges into a supernatural world of desire, revenge and dark justice. Sometimes called Kurosawa’s only horror film, Throne of Blood engulfs the spectator in a foggy, supernatural and elemental world where occult fate and human ambition combine to create one of the great cinematic experiences.
AN ACTOR’S REVENGE (1963)
DIRECTED BY KON ICHIKAWA
DECEMBER 9, 2021
In traditional Japanese theatre, female roles were played by male actors in a practice known as onnagata. One such performer in an Osaka kabuki company is the lead character of this tale of schemes, revenge, and guilt. Set in the 1830s, An Actor’s Revenge is a backstage drama set in the world of kabuki theatre following the efforts of an onnagata, played by legendary actor Kazuo Hasegawa in his 300th film, to enact a dramatic vengeance against the men responsible for his parents’ deaths. With dazzling colour widescreen cinematography, director Kon Ichikawa plays with the conventions of stage melodrama and the line between fiction and reality within the fractured mind of his vengeful protagonist.
THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA (1958)
DIRECTED BY KEISUKE KINOSHITA
DECEMBER 22, 2021
In a village high in the rural mountains of Japan, resourceful Grandma Orin lives in harmony with her family and community. Still strong and vital, Orin prepares herself for a ritual that every person in the community who reaches the age of 72 must undergo: A journey to the summit of nearby Mount Narayama, where she will be left to die at the mercy of the elements. Director Keisuke Kinoshita creates from this simple fable perhaps the greatest and most visually stunning of Japan’s Kabuki influenced films. Utilizing ethereal set design and evocative cinematography, The Ballad of Narayama unfolds like a fairy tale dream from an ancient time.
One of the most beautiful and moving mythic visions ever put on screen, it is a film of radiant theatrical technique and startling emotional impact.
THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA (1983)
DIRECTED BY SHOHEI IMAMURA
DECEMBER 23, 2021
In 1983, acclaimed and provocative director Shohei Imamura embarked on a remake of the visionary kabuki classic, The Ballad of Narayama. Creating a potent vision of society at its most primal, Imamura transforms the same material made into a previous film of stylized intensity, into a movie of intense reality. Of society made and molded from the appetites of man. And serenely floating above it all, is kindly grandmother Orin, who radiates peace at knowing her fate atop Mount Narayama once she turns 72 years old. Imamura works some of his most powerful social realism magic, turning Orin’s story from the mythic into the everyday. This version of The Ballad of Narayama strikes a deep and resonant truth in our shared humanity. Winner of the Palme D’or (Best Film) at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. In a unique two night experience, Calgary Cinematheque offers a second version of The Ballad of Narayama for audience consideration and enjoyment.
GATE OF HELL (1953)
DIRECTED BY TEINOSUKE KINUGASA
JANUARY 6, 2022
Named by Martin Scorsese as one of the greatest color films ever made, Teinosuke Kinugasa’s Gate of Hell is a stylized vision of overwhelming passions contained within ritualistic societal bounds. Kinugasa used his own experience playing female roles in Japanese theatrical productions to frame the story of samurai Moritoh’s (Kazuo Hasegawa) obsession with the young maiden (Machiko Kyo) who he rescues from death, only to be unable to respect the fact that she is already married. With passionately fiery colour compositions, Oscar winning costumes and sets resembling the most exquisite of Japanese woodcuts, Gate of Hell is a supernova of superlative beauty and emotion.
A PAGE OF MADNESS (1926)
DIRECTED BY TEINOSUKE KINUGASA
JANUARY 6, 2022
The Calgary Cinematheque is delighted to present a Kinugasa double feature, with the second program consisting of one of the most unique films of the Japanese silent era. Created by an avant-garde movement of artists known as the Shinkankakuha (School of New Perceptions), which rejected naturalistic styles. Highly influence by Noh theatre, including a finale utilizing traditional Noh masks, A Page of Madness is commonly interpreted as an early horror film. We say “commonly interpreted” because with its avant-garde editing, potentially non-linear narrative, and lack of title cards, the film’s story is left open to audience interpretation. During its original theatrical run, the film would have been accompanied by a narrator called abenshi, who would have given an interpretation of the events onscreen based on the film’s written scenario. Set in an asylum in contemporary Japan, the film’s plot includes dream sequences and fantasies that blur the line between fantasy and reality, calling the sanity of its characters into question. Thought to be a lost film for decades, it was rediscovered by the director himself in 1971, buried in his garden shed.
A STORY FROM CHIKAMATSU (1954)
DIRECTED BY KENJI MIZOGUCHI
JANUARY 20, 2022
Based on the famous joruri play, where a singer and shamisen player accompany abunraku puppet performance, this film from the acclaimed director Kenji Mizoguchi is considered one of the masterpieces of Japanese cinema. Featuring an unforgettable visual style inspired by traditional woodcuts and scroll paintings, and showcasing Mizoguchi’s famous long takes, the film is a stirring critique of the forces of greed, social conformity, and misogyny in traditional Japanese society. Set in the 18th century, the story centres on a complex web of relationships between an elderly scroll maker in Kyoto, his young wife, their maid, and his top apprentice, with tragedy dogging the characters due to a series of presumed affairs and infidelities.
MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1981)
DIRECTED BY PAUL SCHRADER
FEBRUARY 3, 2022
In 1985, director Paul Schrader (First Reformed, Cat People) released his long gestating bio pic on controversial Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima. Utilizing a mix of traditional Hollywood storytelling, stunningly choreographed stylized set pieces inspired by Japanese art and film, and a stunning Philip Glass score, Mishima is a marvel. It showcases the vision of not only director Schrader’s underrated talents, but of Yukio Mishima himself. A man whose charismatic personality, provocative talent, life and work all came together in his own lifetime to become a spectacle of public theatre.