Sansho the
Bailiff, based on the short story by Ogai Mori
8.9 out of
10
Launched in
1954, in Black and White, this story of a family living in medieval Japan has
been included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made:
When their
father, the governor, is sent into exile, the children are separated from their
mother.
They are in
fact kidnapped and while the woman is taken on a small boat, the brother and
sister are forced to move away, in spite of their repeated, heartbreaking, loud
cries and the pleas of the parent.
Another woman,
accompanying Tamaki, the mother, is pushed around so much, while she tries to
escape that she falls into the water and drowns – this was a bit weird, for it
looked like she – perhaps both – should have tried while they were still in
shallow waters, close to the shore and not late in the game, when the plunge
was fatal.
In the same
vein, the children desperately making motions and running along the shore seemed
to ignore the fact that they could step into the water and nothing serious
would happen.
This was
just a silly thought anyway.
Eventually,
Anju, the little sister, and her brother, Zushio, are brought to various
potential buyers, but the seller is told he should travel to try at the rich
Sansho the Bailiff, the most prominent landowner in the area.
This is the
ultimate villain.
A man so
ruthless and vicious that he would spare no pain to the people he owns – for he
has slaves working for him.
When a poor
woman tries to escape and mentions her poor children and the longing she felt
to see them again after such a long time, the Bailiff instructs one man to
punish her and this one moves away.
A terrible
torture would be inflicted again later, by a grownup Zushio, although in his
case, he would live to regret and ask forgiveness for it, and it consists of
using a hot iron.
Sansho the
Bailiff takes the iron himself and places it on the face of his poor, horrified
and feeling excruciating pain victim that would be forever stigmatized by this
atrocious, vile act.
The former
children of a notability, unused with any rough treatment, have to work in
terrible conditions, taking up heavy weights, carrying loads through the day
and in the case of the sister, falling under the burden in the mud.
When they
grow, the brother becomes so hardened, such a tough character after all this
abuse that he suffered ever since he was maybe seven that he seems to have no
compassion.
Another situation
occurs when the awful, inhumane, horrendous punishment is required and it is Zushio
who takes the hot iron to place on the face of another victim of torture.
Anju is aghast
at what happened to her brother, albeit she may suspect what we know today,
that those who suffer abuse in childhood tend to become abusive in their turn,
when they become adults.
At this stage,
if you have reached so far, maybe you should consider stopping, if you intend
to look for the film online.
Because if
it was just the buildup of the narrative up to this point, from now on, there
might be some spoiler alerts.
Reluctant at
first, Zushio would eventually agree with the plan of his sibling to run and
try to escape from this slave owner, taking refuge nearby, where a king man
offers shelter and saves a woman that had been left to die, out in the open, with
no support in barbaric fashion.
When an
official is contacted – after what looked like an exaggerated, lamentable plea
for kindness – he decides to install Zushio as the governor of the province
where Sansho is the Bailiff…
However,
when the young man states that he intends to abolish slavery, the powerful
figure explains that this is not possible, for he has no jurisdiction over
private realms and it would be dangerous.
Since I have
mentioned what happens this far, perhaps I should stop by saying that the
brave, now transformed, Redeemed new governor may try to repent for his past
offences, vile acts and try to find his sister – whose fate would not be
mentioned – and his lost mother, after some heroic deeds.
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