Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Teinosuke Kinugasa’s Jigokumon (Gate of Hell) is just a good plot away from being a great film. It has all one could ask for in regards to great production values, including marvelous use of color, striking shot composition, superbly choreographed battle scenes, beautiful sets and costumes, and a stylish gracefulness throughout. It even has a sound plot premise. Unfortunately, those values are offset by glaring inconsistencies in the dramatic resolution, of which even Kinugasa was acutely aware. Japanese film critics, probably thinking mostly about the plot deficiencies, took little notice of this film when it was released and most didn’t even place it in their top-tens for the year. International critics, however, concentrating on the production qualities, heaped praise and awards on the film – much to the consternation of the Japanese critics.
The story of the film was based on a play by Kan Kikuchi which was in turn based on a story from the twelfth century, during which time the Heian dynasty (794-1185) was in its final descent. This is the same era of Japanese history that provides the settings for Rashômon (1950) and The Tale of Genji (1952).
Historical Background: Japanese filmmaking first came to international attention during the early 1950’s in what is now referred to as The Golden Age of Japanese Cinema. This period was ushered in by Kurisawka’s Rashômon (1950) and continued with Kimisaburo Yoshimura’s The Tale of Genji (1952), and Kenji Mizoguchi’s great work, Ugetsu (1953). Kinugasa’s contributions to Japanese filmmaking dated back as far as 1928, when, as a 32-year-old, Kinugasa had successfully marketed his expressionist film Crossroads as the first ever Japanese film to be seen in Europe.
The Story:Gate of Hell opens with its most action packed sequence up-front, which is usually not good film structure. The opening scene places us in the midst of a palace revolt in the year 1159. The Minamoto clan is attempting to overthrown the Emperor and his regent Kiyomori (Koreya Senda) and are taking advantage of Kiyomori’s momentary absence from the palace for their insurrection. The images during this battle are visually stunning. Much of the action is seen through wafting veils or banners as the light from distance fires sparkles off the gorgeous uniforms and kimonos. The priority for those defending the Emperor is to ensure the escape of the Emperor and his younger sister, the Princess Josaimon-In. Interestingly, neither the Emperor or the Princess ever appear in the film. The leader of the loyal forces determines that a decoy is required to buy time for the escape of the royal family. The Empress’s carriage will be send out under escort through the south gate with an impersonator, wearing the golden robe of the Empress. He asks for a volunteer from among the ladies-in-waiting and the courageous Lady Kesa (Machiko Kyô) demurely steps forward. Her carriage will be protected by a small contingent of warriors under the samurai warrior, Moritoh (Kaazuo Hasegawa). If they are fortunate enough to break through the rebel forces, the plan is for the two to hide out at the house of Moritoh’s brother.
While Moritoh’s men engage the enemy, Moritoh succeeds in getting the carriage to his brother’s home, only to discover that his brother has allied himself with the rebels. Moritoh views his brother’s behavior as treachery while the brother considers it just wise strategy. While Moritoh confronts the small group of rebels, Kady Kesa makes her escape. Moritoh next acts as courier to alert the absent Kiyomori about the rebellion. He also identifies and kills a spy among Kiyomori’s inner circle. Under Kiyomori’s leadership, the rebellion is quickly squashed and the heads of the unfortunate rebel leaders, Moritoh’s brother included, are hung from the so-called “Gate of Hell” at the entrance of the palace. For his loyalty to the Emperor and Kiyomori, Moritoh is granted anything he may want – other than the head of the Regent or any of his family. Surprisingly, Moritoh asks for the hand of Lady Kesa in marriage. Kiyomori is initially more than ready to oblige, until both he and Moritoh are surprised to learn that Lady Kesa is already married to Wataru Watanabe (Isao Yamagate), a trusted samurai of the Imperial Guard. Although etiquette and good sense require that Moritoh withdraw his un-grantable request, he refuses to do so. His passion for Kesa and his stubborn pride are such that he is now obsessed with gaining her one way or another.
Moritoh now sets himself as a rival to Kesa’s husband. Kesa, however, is loyal to a fault to her husband and her husband exhibits complete trust in his wife. Moritoh enters himself in the same horserace as Wataru in the local sumarai games. Later, he challenges Wataru to a duel, but the confrontation is diffused by the other warriors. Later he lures Kesa to her aunt’s household under the pretext of her aunt having become ill. He threatens to kill her husband, her aunt, and even herself if she resists his determination to possess her. Kesa’s loyalty to her husband is thus tested in full measure. How she manages that challenge will be left for readers to discover from watching the film. I’ll only add that it is in this final segment of the film that the coherency of the plot largely collapses and severely strains credulity.
Themes: One theme, I suppose, is the rigidity of the social system in 12th century Japan where roles in the power hierarchy as well as the roles of men and women in marriage were rigorously prescribed. By demanding the hand of a married woman, Moritoh upset the social structure, practically ensuring some kind of tragic outcome. The second obvious issue is the extremes to which love will drive people. We see this in both Moritoh’s unreasonable obsession with Kesa and in Kesa’s ultimate response. First and foremost, Gate of Hell is a love story with pretty much the familiar triangular arrangement.
Production Values:Gate of Hell was produced using Eastman color film. It was the first film from Daiei Studios to use color although another Japanese studio (Shochiku) had two years earlier produced a film in Fugicolor. The intensity of the colors and the change-ups in the color palette from one scene to another go beyond what one encounters in almost any other film. The cinematographer, Kohei Sugiyama, was one of the best to ever work in Japan. He worked regularly with Kinugasa but also shot both A Tale of Genji (1952) and Ugetsu (1953), the former of which won him the 1952 Cannes Award for Best Photography. The battle scenes are magnificently choreographed and the marvelous period costumes won an Oscar for Sanzo Wada, the costume designer.
Kazuo Hasegawa, who played Moritoh, delivers a fine performance as the obsessed Molitoh. He had performed in many Kinugasa films and later appeared in The Actor’s Revenge directed by Kon Ichikawa. Hasagawa and Kinugasa initially worked with Shochiku Studios and when they suddenly left together over a contract dispute, the studio actually hired a thug to attack Hasagawa with a razor blade, leaving a deep scar on his right cheek that is visible in some scenes in Gate of Hell. Talk about a studio demanding loyalty!
Machiko Kyô was Japan’s lead actress during The Golden Age of the early and mid-1950’s. She appeared in Rashômon (1950), Ugetsu (1953), and later in The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956). She strikes precisely the right chord in her portrayal of Lady Kesa, delivering a passionate performance while also epitomizing the ideals of femininity Japanese-style circa 12th century. No easy task!
The plot premise is certainly interesting enough: samurai warrior covets wife of another samurai. Most of the action in the film occurs in the first third from which point the film progressively slows down – which is not good dramatic structure. Many critics complain that the middle third is especially slow, but the emotional tension picks up during this segment and I’m more personally attuned to emotional tension than action. I had no difficulty with that portion of the film. The problem for me personally (as well as for a significant share of other reviewers) is that the plot integrity falls apart in the denouement. The ending raises significant questions and, in fact, those questions are even largely posed directly by one of the characters – Wataru. Unfortunately, neither he nor we ever get credible answers to those questions.
Bottom-Line:Gate of Hell Won the Palme D’Or at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival as well as two Oscar – Best Foreign Film (technically, the predecessor Special Award) and Best Costume Design – and the New York Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Film. Based on production values along, this film could easily qualify as a great one, but the problems with the plot, especially at the end, limit it to four star status. Nevertheless, it is entertaining and worth a look-see, especially for those who find samurai-genre films appealing. Gate of Hell is in Japanese with English subtitles and has a running time of 86 minutes.
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