The festival closes with the UK premiere of Yasuzō Masumura’s impassioned drama, which acts as a fierce critique of Japanese society.
Ayako Wakao portrays Okane, a rich widower whose relationship with soldier Seisaku (Takahiro Tamura) causes the local villagers to brand her as a witch. When Seisaku is called to the front at the onset of Japan’s war with Russia, Okane takes drastic steps to ensure he doesn’t leave.
Masumura and Wakao’s partnership on this erotically charged melodrama ranks as one of their best, taking a molecular look at the role of women in fin de siècle Japan. At the same time, Seisaku no Tsuma takes an unflattering look at the inherent militarism that was deeply embedded in Japanese society at this time, examining the sacrifices and tragedies that arise from a national ideology.
Now presented in a striking new restoration, Seisaku no Tsuma emerges as a masterwork of Japanese cinema, one that finally enjoys its UK premiere after taking a bow at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. The restoration was based on the original negative and sound. It was possible to restore the original texture and beauty of the black-and-white DalieiScope movie using the storyboarded editing plan.
Restored in 4K in 2024 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION at IMAGICA Entertainment Media Services.
With an intro by Rayna Denison, Professor of Film and Digital Arts and Head of Department for Film and Television at the Unversity of Bristol.
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