donofrio08 Review of Gate of Hell

Gate of Hell (1953)

Guilt and Self -Punishment, the works of uncontrollable desires.

[9/10 · 30 December 2004]

In a time when movies are becoming more and more alike, Gate of Hell provides an intelligent way-out to imagination and, at the same time, to more complex and unorthodox endings. The classical Romantic triangle links to a Greek-like tragedy (it's loosely based on The Rape of Lucrece), where the main characters suffer the circumstances of carnal passion triggered by a vulgar political event. Contrary to a confrontation to be solved within the male stamina, Kinugasa's subtle tactful touches the theme of guilt and punishment embroidered in a suspenseful plot that reminds us of Dostoiewski's tragic hero. The ultimate and unrequited fidelity on the part of the unfortunate Tesa represents the silence of submission women are supposed to play in repressive societies. Her untimely death is more than the prize for trustworthiness, but the quintessential proof of dependability on 'macho's rights'. Shot in a resplendent Eastmancolor, Gate of Hell, the first Japanese movie to be filmed in color, extracts poetry from the misery of Man and the tragic destiny of tormented souls that recognize how oppressive feelings can be, as Kurosawa's Rashomon had discovered a few years before. This film is a big A.