Gate of Hell was the first Japanese color film distributed in an international market. Visually it looks pretty modern for a 1953 film as most of the post-war Japanese films were usually shot in black and white at that time.
The film has a pretty good reputation with prestigious director Teinosuke Kinugasa at the helm who won the Palme d'or for this film in 1954. Nonetheless I was not bowled over by it as the story can perhaps be best described as a rather simple fable.
Before the main plot kicks in, the narrative first deals with the interesting political history of 12th century feudal Japan. In a nutshell the Heiji Rebellion of 1159 is chronicled in which a group of rebels attempt to overthrow the reigning government. The protagonist is Endo Morito, a samurai devoted to the existing order who is tasked with escorting lady-in-waiting Kesa (Machiko Kyo) away from the battle area in order to buy time for the emperor and his queen to escape.
This is how Morito superficially gets to know Kesa. After the rebellion is put down, Morito becomes obsessed with Kesa. He asks the emperor for permission to marry her but it's soon discovered that Kesa is already married to Wataru Watanabe (Isao Yamagat), a samurai of the Imperial Guard.
Like a lovesick puppy dog, Morito begs Kesa to run away with him but she refuses. He then goes to the couples' house where he intends to murder Wataru but ends up killing Kesa instead who convinced her husband not to sleep in his bedroom in order to protect him..
There is virtually little character development here with Kesa depicted as a completely subservient 12th century Japanese woman. Inexplicably she fails to inform her husband that Morito is coming for him and her self-sacrifice is intended as some sort of great tragedy.
After Morito accidentally kills Kesa, he's filled with remorse (despite his prior depiction as completely cruel and controlling) and it also feels out of character that Wataru refuses to take revenge on his guilt-ridden rival (apparently he's a "good-guy" samurai).
Morito will spend the rest of his days as a monk and Wataru pining away for the now lost tragic Kesa.
All of this plays out quite lugubriously and Kesa's murder could have been shown in significant less time depicted here.
Gate of Hell is a rather simplistic tale of jealousy and obsession. It's got a nice look but the story ultimately disappoints.
The film has a pretty good reputation with prestigious director Teinosuke Kinugasa at the helm who won the Palme d'or for this film in 1954. Nonetheless I was not bowled over by it as the story can perhaps be best described as a rather simple fable.
Before the main plot kicks in, the narrative first deals with the interesting political history of 12th century feudal Japan. In a nutshell the Heiji Rebellion of 1159 is chronicled in which a group of rebels attempt to overthrow the reigning government. The protagonist is Endo Morito, a samurai devoted to the existing order who is tasked with escorting lady-in-waiting Kesa (Machiko Kyo) away from the battle area in order to buy time for the emperor and his queen to escape.
This is how Morito superficially gets to know Kesa. After the rebellion is put down, Morito becomes obsessed with Kesa. He asks the emperor for permission to marry her but it's soon discovered that Kesa is already married to Wataru Watanabe (Isao Yamagat), a samurai of the Imperial Guard.
Like a lovesick puppy dog, Morito begs Kesa to run away with him but she refuses. He then goes to the couples' house where he intends to murder Wataru but ends up killing Kesa instead who convinced her husband not to sleep in his bedroom in order to protect him..
There is virtually little character development here with Kesa depicted as a completely subservient 12th century Japanese woman. Inexplicably she fails to inform her husband that Morito is coming for him and her self-sacrifice is intended as some sort of great tragedy.
After Morito accidentally kills Kesa, he's filled with remorse (despite his prior depiction as completely cruel and controlling) and it also feels out of character that Wataru refuses to take revenge on his guilt-ridden rival (apparently he's a "good-guy" samurai).
Morito will spend the rest of his days as a monk and Wataru pining away for the now lost tragic Kesa.
All of this plays out quite lugubriously and Kesa's murder could have been shown in significant less time depicted here.
Gate of Hell is a rather simplistic tale of jealousy and obsession. It's got a nice look but the story ultimately disappoints.