A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness explained

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness
Director:Seijun Suzuki
Story:Ikki Kajiwara
Screenplay:Atsushi Yamatoya
Starring:Yoko Shiraki
Yoshio Harada
Masumi Okada
Joe Shishido
Music:Keitaro Miho
Ichiro Tomita
Cinematography:Masaru Mori
Editing:Akira Suzuki
Distributor:Shochiku
Runtime:93 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese

is a 1977 Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki.[1]

Plot

The film is about a professional model Reiko (Shiraki) who is being groomed for the golf circuit by the editor of a golfing fashion magazine. During her first professional competition she has great success, winning the approval of her mentor, a TV audience and others. Suddenly, everyone wants a piece of Reiko.[2] The plot turns sinister as one of her devoted followers develops an obsession with Reiko and starts to blackmail and threaten her.[3]

Cast

Reception

Jasper Sharp of Midnight Eye said, "Coming across like a deranged hybrid of Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me (1971) and Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), this sinister social satire of Stepford Wives-esque suburban aspiration set against the glamorous world of big budget sports promotion is impossible to pigeonhole as anything other than a Suzuki film."[4]

David Carter of Film Fanaddict described the film as "a vastly different film from his previous body of work, but one that retained many of the stylistic touches for which he was known and contained more than a few subtle digs at corporations, fame and the entertainment industry."[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%82%B2%E6%84%81%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E-756001. ja:悲愁物語とは. 2021-01-26. Japanese. kotobank.
  2. Web site: A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness. MUBI. 16 January 2014.
  3. Web site: Story of Sorrow and Sadness. Midnight Eye. 16 January 2014.
  4. Web site: Midnight Eye review: Story of Sorrow and Sadness. Midnight Eye. Jasper. Sharp. 1 July 2003.
  5. Web site: A TALE OF SORROW (1977). Film Fanaddict. David. Carter. 17 February 2010. 26 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030634/http://www.shockingimages.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1279. 4 March 2016. dead.