Kinoshita Keisuke was the most well-regarded director at Shochiku next to Ozu, though the quality of his work is very uneven. Kinoshita worked in different genres and different styles, though most of his best films cold be classified as melodramas. "Kazabana" (The Snow Flurry, 1959) is melodrama in the vein of Douglas Sirk. The story takes place in a small rural community, where a rich family lives. The narrative is structured through flashbacks, and the story starts from its very end. As it is something of a mystery, I will not enclose plot details, except that the film looks at class differences and their effect on love.
The film was shot in Shochiku GrandScope by cinematographer Kusuda Hiroshi, a Kinoshita regular. The autumnal color palette makes this one of the most eye-pleasing films made during the golden years of Japanese cinema. There are different shades of blue and brown, that make the locations of the film correlate with the emotional bleakness experienced by the characters. Unfortunately the characters themselves aren't that colorful, but instead very black and white. The rich are portrayed as selfish, vain, and mean, whereas the poor characters played by Kishi Keiko and Kawasu Yusuke are shown to live without hope. One would think that the flashback structure was there to add depth to these characters, but instead I felt like the purpose was to conceal the lack of psychological nuances. Also the structure makes you expect a twist of some sort, another thing that the film lacks.
I compared this film to Douglas Sirk, whom it resembles both because of the visual style and the themes of the storyline. However, this film lacks Sirk's angst, and his detailed social commentary. "Kazabana" is a brooding, sad affair, that presents a world where social reformation is not an option, since the cards have already been dealt. It is interesting to think how other Japanese directors of the time would have handled this. Imai Tadashi would have made this angrier and more political, Ozu would have given characters also sympathetic sides, Naruse would have better made the pain experienced by the characters feel universal. The middle-of-the-road approach by Kinoshita, who does not even choose a clear main protagonist for the film, ultimately looks pretty but says very little. This is sad, because besides the colors, the actors Kinoshita has assembled form a very stellar Shochiku all-star cast.
The film was shot in Shochiku GrandScope by cinematographer Kusuda Hiroshi, a Kinoshita regular. The autumnal color palette makes this one of the most eye-pleasing films made during the golden years of Japanese cinema. There are different shades of blue and brown, that make the locations of the film correlate with the emotional bleakness experienced by the characters. Unfortunately the characters themselves aren't that colorful, but instead very black and white. The rich are portrayed as selfish, vain, and mean, whereas the poor characters played by Kishi Keiko and Kawasu Yusuke are shown to live without hope. One would think that the flashback structure was there to add depth to these characters, but instead I felt like the purpose was to conceal the lack of psychological nuances. Also the structure makes you expect a twist of some sort, another thing that the film lacks.
I compared this film to Douglas Sirk, whom it resembles both because of the visual style and the themes of the storyline. However, this film lacks Sirk's angst, and his detailed social commentary. "Kazabana" is a brooding, sad affair, that presents a world where social reformation is not an option, since the cards have already been dealt. It is interesting to think how other Japanese directors of the time would have handled this. Imai Tadashi would have made this angrier and more political, Ozu would have given characters also sympathetic sides, Naruse would have better made the pain experienced by the characters feel universal. The middle-of-the-road approach by Kinoshita, who does not even choose a clear main protagonist for the film, ultimately looks pretty but says very little. This is sad, because besides the colors, the actors Kinoshita has assembled form a very stellar Shochiku all-star cast.