Beautiful Mystery (Japan/Gay)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: C+
Running about an hour, Nakamura Genji’s Beautiful
Mystery (1983) is a Japanese “Pink Film” dealing with homosexuality in the
country. The film spends an hour
showing high gay activity in the Japanese military, and though they are not as
militarized as they were after World War II, the idea of rampant such behavior
in under shades of Japanese Militarism is still a very touchy subject there
over two decades after this film and 6 decades after the end of that war.
Though not the complex and deep mediation that Paul
Schrader’s Mishima – A Life In Four Chapters (1984) was, it makes for an
interesting companion thereof. If you
do not grasp the situation, it is gong to look like a softcore XXX film of some
sort with military costumes and no point, but you would be wrong. With that said, even with its short length,
it could have said more about Japanese Militarism. As it stands, it is still a strong political indictment of a form
of Fascism that has not quite disappeared from Japan and is bound to be a
political target sooner or later.
The 1.85 X 1 letterboxed image is on the soft side with a
lack of detail and somewhat dulled color, but it is at least consistent and
watchable enough, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is comparatively
clearer. The resulting playback will
do, but there are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
