There’s prolific, and then there’s Kazuo Hasegawa. Though not a well-known name here in the west, Hasegawa appeared in over three hundred films in his native Japan. With a filmography that long, you can be forgiven for revisiting certain stories – An Actor’s Revenge, coming towards the end of his career, was not only his three hundredth film but a remake of one of his earlier ones. Oh, and he plays two roles in it. Busy guy.
In this 1963 version, Hasegawa’s main role is that of Yukinojō Nakamura, who’s an onnagata, or female impersonator, in the kabuki theatre – think a nineteenth-century Japanese drag act. His troupe visits the town of Edo, where three men draw his attention; decades ago, these men’s scheming drove Yukinojō’s father out of business and led both his parents to suicide. Now unrecognised by them, the actor plans to manipulate his way into their lives, through charming one of their daughters, and eventually get his revenge.
You can see why studios kept hiring Hasegawa; he gives a mesmerisingly layered performance as Yukinojō, who embodies the femininity of his theatrical persona on stage and off, and elicits both scorn and affection with his gentle formality, carefully concealing the ferocious rage bubbling underneath. We see a different, more charismatic, side to Hasegawa in his other role as Robin Hood-like thief Yamitarō, who weaves in and out of the action; in fact, you could be excused for not noticing the two characters are portrayed by the same actor.
The other main selling point of An Actor’s Revenge is its strange but bold cinematography. The exterior scenes take place at nighttime, with most of the screen being pitch black except for certain brightly lit items of scenery; it’s a very theatrical device, and some may see it as a poor substitute for actual location filming, but go with it and you might appreciate the unique, lavish look it gives the whole film.
If there is a weak point, it’s that the script errs to the melodramatic and is particularly let down by some overly drawn out and expository dialogue sequences. At one point, Yukinojō has his own backstory explained to him in detail by his tutor. It’s not subtle.
Nevertheless, this is a film well worth your attention, and not just for Japanese cinema nerds. If that does describe you, however, you’ll love the main special feature – a 50-minute documentary called 100 Years of Japanese Film. This Blu-ray release also comes with four rare archive newsreel films documenting Japanese life, a new audio commentary from critic Tony Rayns, and a fully illustrated booklet of essays – as complete and high-quality a package as we’ve come to expect from the BFI’s releases.
AN ACTOR’S REVENGE (1963) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: KON ICHIKAWA / SCREENPLAY: NATTO WADA / STARRING: KAZUO HASEGAWA, FUJIKO YAMAMOTO, AYAKO WAKAO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
