Double Suicide
Encyclopedia
is a 1969 film directed by Masahiro Shinoda
. It is based on the 1721 play The Love Suicides at Amijima
by Monzaemon Chikamatsu. This play is often performed in the bunraku
style (that is, with puppets). In the film, the story is performed with live actors, but also makes use of Japanese theatrical traditions such as the kuroko
(stagehands dressed entirely in black) who invisibly interact with the actors, and the set is non-realist. The film opens with the preparations by the kuroko for a modern-day presentation of a puppet play while a voice-over is heard of someone, presumably the director, calling on the telephone to find a location for the penultimate scene of the lovers' suicide. Soon human actors are substituted for the puppets, and the action proceeds in a naturalistic fashion, until from time to time the kuroko intervene to accomplish scene shifts or heighten the dramatic intensity of the two lovers' resolve to be united in death.
The stylized sets and the period costumes and props simultaneously convey a classical theatricality and contemporaneous modernity. Jihei's fatal love interest, Koharu the prostitute, and his neglected wife, Osan, are both played by actress Shima Iwashita.
This film was released on DVD in Japanese with English subtitles in Region 1 on 30 January 2001.
Masahiro Shinoda
is a Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s.-Career:...
. It is based on the 1721 play The Love Suicides at Amijima
The Love Suicides at Amijima
The Love Suicides at Amijima is a domestic play by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Originally written for the jōruri puppet theatre, it was adapted into kabuki shortly after its premiere. The play is one of Chikamatsu's more famous plays.It was first performed 3 January 1721...
by Monzaemon Chikamatsu. This play is often performed in the bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
style (that is, with puppets). In the film, the story is performed with live actors, but also makes use of Japanese theatrical traditions such as the kuroko
Kuroko
are stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, who dress all in black.In kabuki, the kuroko serve many of the same purposes as running crew. They move scenery and props on stage, aiding in scene changes and costume changes. They will also often play the role of animals, will-o-the-wisps, or other...
(stagehands dressed entirely in black) who invisibly interact with the actors, and the set is non-realist. The film opens with the preparations by the kuroko for a modern-day presentation of a puppet play while a voice-over is heard of someone, presumably the director, calling on the telephone to find a location for the penultimate scene of the lovers' suicide. Soon human actors are substituted for the puppets, and the action proceeds in a naturalistic fashion, until from time to time the kuroko intervene to accomplish scene shifts or heighten the dramatic intensity of the two lovers' resolve to be united in death.
The stylized sets and the period costumes and props simultaneously convey a classical theatricality and contemporaneous modernity. Jihei's fatal love interest, Koharu the prostitute, and his neglected wife, Osan, are both played by actress Shima Iwashita.
This film was released on DVD in Japanese with English subtitles in Region 1 on 30 January 2001.
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by Claire Johnston
- New York Times review by Roger Greenspun
- Double Suicide on Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...