SANSHO THE BAILIFF
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1991 Thomas E. Billings
Synopsis: In 9th century Japan, a district governor is sent into exile. His family is later kidnapped and sold into slavery. After many years in slavery, the son escapes to search for his father, and seeks revenge on the cruel bailiff who held him in slavery. An epic drama, with a strong anti-slavery message.
Japan (English subtitles), black-and-white, 1954, 125 minutes. Director: Kenji Mizoguchi.
The story begins with the exile of the governor of Tango district. He is being exiled because he didn't follow orders; orders that he believed were too harsh and harmful to the peasants. A few years later his wife and family are on their way to visit him. However, they are kidnapped and sold into slavery. The mother is sold to a brothel on a distant island, and the children are sold to the estate of Sansho, the local bailiff.
The estate Sansho manages is very large, with many slaves, who are controlled via brute force and extreme cruelty. Years pass, and the children (brother and sister) grow up as slaves. The boy grows into a strong young man, favored by the bailiff for his hard work and devotion. One day an opportunity arises to escape. The son takes advantage of the opportunity, and goes to the Prime Minister's residence, seeking justice and information on his father...
This film is considered by some to be one of the classics of world cinema. It has also been compared to the classic Greek tragedies. Now that I have had an opportunity to see it, I can report that these are accurate and reasonable assessments of the film. This is a very good film indeed. The story line is very compact, and is written very well. The production values are very high, and the acting is excellent.
The story is quite interesting, and the film has a number of good messages. One of these is loyalty, as the little boy learns his father's philosophy, rejects it when he is a young adult, then reaffirms the philosophy when he realizes the cruelty of his situation. However, the principal message is anti-slavery, which is the driving force in the story. Sansho is a very cruel bailiff, though he won't kill slaves (they are too valuable); instead he has them branded and beaten.
This film is indeed a classic, and I recommend it to a general audience. It's worth seeing if you have the opportunity.
Distribution: Screened at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA. The print was from the Archive's collection of Japanese films. The owner of the film copyright is Films Inc.
Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
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