Rating of
2.5/4
Ambitious, But Imperfect
mitchellyoung - wrote on 12/27/11
Mishima is an ambitious work, which attempts to dissect the themes of the Japanese poet's work and draw parallels to events in his life. The unconventional story structure is interesting, but occasionally drags. The film's themes sometimes don't hit as convincingly as some of Schrader's other work (I'm thinking his Scorsese pairings.) I also wasn't a fan of the English narration, which seemed jarring, when the rest of the film is in Japanese with subtitles. The dramatic portrayals are the film's most ethereal and beautiful part and the soundtrack is stirring and among Phillip Glass's best work.
