Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Reviews

I didn’t really care for this. I found it confusing, dragged in some places, was messily written, the 4 chapters were poorly connected, felt emotionally flat, and I didn’t really know what was going on half of the time.
The score, set design, visuals, and themes were probably-

“I wanted to explode, light the sky for an instant and disappear.”

One of the greatest films I have ever had the pleasure of seeing for the first time. The production is outstanding, the acting is worthy of 3 or more Oscars each, the cinematography is without a shadow of a doubt top 3 in cinema, and finally the writing is so fucking good it might even tie 12 Angry Men.

On a rewatch I would change absolutely fucking nothing this is a without a doubt one of the greatest things ever made and I love this film to fucking pieces.

—SPECIAL TREATMENT—

Chapter One: Beauty 9.6/10 (THE TEMPLE OF GOLDEN PAVILION IS SO FUCKING PEAK LIKE HOLY FUCK.)

Chapter Two: Art 9.6/10 (Pacing is a bit off and gives us some unnecessary detail but tbh, I wouldn’t change a thing when looking back.)

Chapter Three: Action 9.8/10 (The set ups couldn’t have been any better, and my god the cinematography peaked here, with some exceptions of course.)

Chapter Four: And Harmony Of Pen And Sword 12/10 (A genuine top 3 final act in cinema, rivalling 12 Angry Men and LOTR: ROTK with a debatable argument to beat Parasite. When I first saw the name of the final act at the beginning of the movie I knew it was going to be fucking amazing, and god it was better than I could’ve ever imagined.)

Soundtrack/Score 12/10 (Original, Beautiful, the kind you name playlists after.)

Acting 11/10 (I genuinely thought Ken Ogata was going to actually kill himself at one point like just for the role, he’s just that fucking good.)

Pacing 9.6/10 (Perfect except for Chapter 2, but then again it’s made up for.)

Cinematography 12/10 (Barry Lyndon and Parasite are getting a run for their money here.)

Character Development 9.8/10 (Only really cared For Mishima, idk why but other than the extreme nationalism and ofc the seppuku😭, he just seemed really relatable.)

Writing 12/10 (Quite frankly, this level of writing is in competition with the greatest film of all time writing wise, OBJECTIVELY. Like I didn’t think 12 Angry Men could ever have competition let alone something potentially better.)

Ending 12/10 (I couldn’t have ended it better myself if I was given hundreds upon hundreds of lifetimes.)

Direction 11/10 (Fuckin love this Paul Schrader guy. Idk what about him, but his direction fucking shines to me.)

Overall
130.5/120
A very rare occurrence has occurred ladies and gentlemen, I have reached, my third all timer, a movie that will be with me forever, and will be passed down to my kids. With that being said, Mishima A Life In Four Chapters gets a well deserved 11/10

One of the greatest films of all time. This is straight peak all 4 chapters are amazing some better than others but great. And this is how u do a bio pic you don’t make it entertaining you make a character study about the persons life and convey what it meant. 10/10

mm ok

This is a beautiful movie, a visual poem. I loved the picture and cinematography, the color and the lack of it, representing reality vs fiction, the music, and the way the story was narrated. I did struggle to connect a bit with the story, but visually it is stunning.

Insane film, please watch this immediately

Beauty

Art

Action

That fucking soundtrack

Pure harmony.

wonderfully structured and beautifully composed, a film like no other; paul schrader’s masterpiece uses a brilliant script and unique chapter sequence to tell an intimate and powerful story. all themes are handled delicately and with purpose; serene and moving

soundtrack was banger

The cinematography and score alone is a 10/10
Some of the stories get v strange (ch.2 specifically lol) but still a really beautiful movie. I was bored during certain bits, but would def watch again just for the composition. Worth a watch even if ur not an artsy movie person.

8/10

Beautiful film with exceptional cinematography. A unique movie experience with a vivid depiction of Japanese culture. A breathtaking ending and culmination of events. One of the absolute greatest scores of all time - the composition is almost palpable.

This is exactly what you would call a masterpiece. The screenplay is simply astonishing and the constant search for a balance among art/words/beauty/actions is sublime. Wow. The movie about a lifetime.

W

A masterwork which confronts and critiques toxic masculinity without mocking or pitying it. Artistically surprising and unpredictable.