No Theater like Noh Theater

I've kind of been writing about a lot of 2-3 star movies - "could have been worse", "I fell asleep but it was OK", etc. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail is not one of those. It is the real thing.

This is one of Akira Kurosawa's first movie, made in 1945. It didn't have a big budget - at this point in the war, Japan could barely afford the film stock for a 1-hour movie. But the austerity also works as it does in Noh theater, to strip the story down to its essence.

The story is the Japanese classic Kanjincho - the Subscription List. Beautiful young noble warrior Yoshitsune has been condemned by his jealous brother Yoritomo. He is fleeing to a northern kingdom with seven loyal retainers dresses as mountain monks. They try to pass a customs barrier, but find that all monks are suspected of harboring Yoshitsune. Their leader, Benkei, explains that they are gathering funds for Todai-ji Temple. When pressed to read the prospectus, he pulls out a blank scroll and improvises the impressive reading of a Buddhist document.

Yoshitsune is disguised as a porter, and when he is questioned, Benkei begins to beat him - something no retainer could do to a lord. This clears them, and they are sent on their way.

The style, as well as the story, is based on Japanese traditional theater, Kabuki, Noh and Kyogen (funny skits, sort of humorous Noh). The kyogen part comes from a comic porter who the fugitives meet on the road. He is played by rubber-faced comic Kenichi Enomoto, who looks just like the exaggerated comic masks used in Kyogen. He overacts in a style that owes something to Kyogen, something to Rakugo (traditional storytelling style) and something to American cinema. He's worth the price of admission alone.

The story ends with the border official sending the monks some sake wine to as a token of respect, and possibly because he saw through their disguises but let them go anyway. Enomoto drinks deeply and does a lovely little comic dance. The trick here is, the play traditionally ends with Benkei doing a dance, but instead we have a comic parody of that dance. I think it's worth the price of admission for the dance alone.

Then Benkei starts his slow, dignified, beautiful dance - and Kurosawa fades out.