I got the Criterion edition of Sansho The Bailiff from NetFlix and watched it over the weekend. It's a 1954 Japanese film written by Fuji Yahiro and Yoshikata Yoda from a story by Mori Ōgai. It was directed by Kenji Mizoguchi who had directed Ugetsu and the 1941 version of The 47 Ronin. He directed a lot of other films in his career. It started in 1923 and ended in 1956 with a total of 98 credits as listed on the IMDb. Sansho The Bailiff is set in the Heian period of feudal Japan. It's a crappy time, there's plenty of war and the poor are pretty much stuck in poverty while the handful of rich guys screw everyone they can. The Governor of a province has overstepped his boundries. He's sent into banishment and his wife and children are sent to her brothers.
Later the wife, kids and a nanny travel to see the father. On the way they're kidnapped, the kids are sold to Sansho the Bailiff, the mother into prostitution on the island of Sado. The nanny is falls out of the boat and no one bothers with her, she's not even worth getting wet for. Sansho is a real terror, he keeps his slaves in line with torture and murder. Trying to escape will get you branded, getting too old, weak or sick gets you left in the woods to die. They won't even bury you; the birds will take care of your corpse. The kids grow up in Sansho's compound and the boy Zushiô becomes hardened to the life. The girl Anju retains her heart. Their father was a just man who believed that without mercy, man is not a human being. Not many in the land felt that way, especially those that were at the top of the pile.
The kids plan their escape but another slave puts a kink in it. She's sick, medicine costs money, so she's to be left in the woods to die. Zushiô is assigned to carry her there and the sister is sent along to help. Anju decides to stay behind and distract the guard watching them so her brother can escape with the other slave. He takes her to a Buddhist temple where she gets some medicine. Back at the compound Anju drowns herself so she won't have to tell where her brother went. Zushiô makes his way to Kyoto to see the Chief Advisor. He proves who he is and the CA makes him Governor of Tango which is where Sansho lives. He also tells him that his father had died the year before. Zushiô frees the slaves of Tango and exiles Sansho. He finds out his sister is dead. The slaves party so hard they burn Sansho's house down. Zushiô resigns his post, knowing that he's overstepped his bounds, and travels to find his mother. He finds her and they have a sad reunion.
I tell you, it's one sad thing after another. It's a really well made film and people who see it rave over it big time. It's just not something I might want to watch that often. It's a great looking film and worth seeing for that. You can see it on YouTube and I've stuck a link in the title above. I'd recommend it, especially for those that like a bleak drama.
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