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With Beauty and Sorrow

Original title: Utsukushisa to kanashimi to
  • 1965
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
372
YOUR RATING
With Beauty and Sorrow (1965)
DramaRomance

Long before the events of the movie Ôki, who was approaching middle age, had a relation to 16-year-old Otoko. She got pregnant, but the child was stillborn. Their relation stopped at the sam... Read allLong before the events of the movie Ôki, who was approaching middle age, had a relation to 16-year-old Otoko. She got pregnant, but the child was stillborn. Their relation stopped at the same time. Much later Ôki had become a famous writer, not least because of a novel about this... Read allLong before the events of the movie Ôki, who was approaching middle age, had a relation to 16-year-old Otoko. She got pregnant, but the child was stillborn. Their relation stopped at the same time. Much later Ôki had become a famous writer, not least because of a novel about this love story. Otoko had become a famous painter. But she had never overcome the double earl... Read all

  • Director
    • Masahiro Shinoda
  • Writers
    • Yasunari Kawabata
    • Nobuo Yamada
  • Stars
    • Kaoru Yachigusa
    • Mariko Kaga
    • Sô Yamamura
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    372
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Masahiro Shinoda
    • Writers
      • Yasunari Kawabata
      • Nobuo Yamada
    • Stars
      • Kaoru Yachigusa
      • Mariko Kaga
      • Sô Yamamura
    • 5User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast9

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    Kaoru Yachigusa
    Kaoru Yachigusa
    • Otoko Ueno
    Mariko Kaga
    Mariko Kaga
    • Keiko Sakami
    Sô Yamamura
    Sô Yamamura
    • Toshio Ôki
    Kei Yamamoto
    • Taichiro Ôki
    Misako Watanabe
    Misako Watanabe
    • Fumiko Ôki
    Haruko Sugimura
    Haruko Sugimura
    • Otoko's mother
    Yoshiko Nakamura
    • Old woman in Arashiyama
    Miko Hirata
    Yoshihide Satô
    • Director
      • Masahiro Shinoda
    • Writers
      • Yasunari Kawabata
      • Nobuo Yamada
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews5

    6.7372
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9crossbow0106

    The Obsession

    I have not read the novel, but this film is a very effective tale about regret, sadness, obsession and coping. Okhi was a married writer who seduced Otoko when she was sixteen, causing her to become pregnant, but miscarry the child. After a period of emotional disturbance, she becomes an artist. Many years later, Okhi turns up in Kyoto to see her, and surprisingly not bitter. However, Otok's 16 year old student Keiko (the beautiful Mariko Kaga)vows revenge on him. You see a kind of connection between Otoko and Keiko, beyond teacher/student. Keiko's obsession with making Okhi pay for what he did to Otoko, even though she wasn't born yet, is the thread of this film. The acting is universally very good, the story is compelling and the film moves methodically to its end. I recommend this for fans of these kind of films, dramas that feature envy, obsession, regret and the possibility of redemption. Its a very compelling tale.
    9a666333

    masterful use of the camera

    Other reviewers have covered the plot and the intense emotions especially jealousy. The acting and directing all work effectively for that but what I would like to emphasize is how the camera is used as a photography tool. Each and every scene is set up as a perfect photograph (as opposed to emphasizing movement). Just how important that aspect of the film is to the director is firmly communicated and driven home with the use of freeze frame in the final seconds. It is not a gimmick, it is a message. Angle, lighting, mood, colour, framing, etc are all as good as they can possibly be. The movie actually needs to be seen once as a story and again as a series of images. The two different have a symbiosis but consist of quite different experiences.
    7m-sendey

    An exquisite tale of emaciating for both sides vengeance

    A middle-aged writer Toshio Ôki (Sô Yamamura) has an affair with a 16-year-old Otoko Ueno (Kaoru Yachigusa) who eventually gets pregnant. When the female learns about the fact that the man is going to leave her and return to his wife, she loses her child, after which she ceases to contact with him. Many years later, Toshio becomes a well-known writer and Otoko a famous painter. Notwithstanding, Otoko cannot forget about Toshio and their tragic romance alters her sexual orientation hence she begins to be interested in women ever since. She endeavours to obtain some consolation by falling in love with her beautiful young pupil Keiko (Mariko Kaga). The moment Toshio visits Otoko in Kyoto, Otoko gets dejected and the wounds of the past turn out to be unhealed. Keiko comes to the conclusion that there had to be something between Otoko and Toshio in the past. The instant she is sure of it, she vows revenge. She resolves to demolish Toshio's private life by seducing him and his beloved son Taichiro (Kei Yamamoto)…

    To start with, With Beauty and Sadness is indubitably a very strong movie. Based on the novel of Yasunari Kawabata, the flick is a profound psychological drama which eschews being scandalous for the sake of being such and generally concentrates on exploring darker sides of human soul in a subtle manner. Masahiro Shinoda, mostly known for his excellent Kawaita hana (1964) aka Pale Flower, does comprehend what a good direction is. His aesthetic fetish for symmetry is ubiquitous and displayed in many a sequence throughout the entire ensemble which provides With Beauty and Sadness with a sterile setting, lacking love, happiness and solace. The director utilizes cold hues such as blue, dim green, grey as well as plenty of austere spaces which results in conjuring up a tangible texture consisting of bamboos, snowflakes, dark walls and barren landscapes which contextualizes with the cruel story very well and creates an inhuman, chilly and bleak climax. This autumnal scenery of Japan, nearly totally devoid of brighter colours, probably also depicts mental states of the protagonists and perfectly punctuates the inner demons of Keiko who is ruthlessly willing to destroy other man's life for her beloved female. The relationships between disparate characters are exposed very well, particularly the lesbian affair of Keiko and Otoko is extraordinarily well depicted. Emotions are incessantly existent and expressed with such a great power that it virtually feels as though hatred, anger and sorrow were flowing through the screen. The storytelling is supplied with some retrospections which recount the affair of Toshio and Otoko. The film is leisurely paced which give an opportunity to construct the tale in detail, deepen the script and render the whole concept far more abstruse and ambiguous.

    Sô Yamamura is simply tremendous in his role. He plays Toshio Ôki – a cynical, cold-blooded writer who doesn't care much about his former lover and isn't consumed by remorse due to his merciless behaviour. Kaoru Yachigusa as Otoko Ueno is very convincing as a forlorn, inconsolable and traumatized female with the tragic past. She never pleads with Keiko to avenge her and the moment Keiko says about her plans, Otoko reacts with reluctance. Thus, her persona is far more complex than an average abandoned lover in search for revenge. It appears she is still in love with Toshio, even though he unabashedly took advantage of her, which enrages envious Keiko. Keiko is no less interesting forasmuch her opulent personality embellishes the murky atmosphere with her youthful vitality, sensuality and unbridled thirst of sacrificing herself with a view to punishing Toshio and provide her lover with consolation. Only the motif of Toshio's son – Taichiro – is insufficiently developed and poorly crafted, but it isn't something which could diminish the magnitude of the remainder of the flick. On account of potent cinematography by Masao Kosugi and a ghostly soundtrack by Toru Takemitsu, the film obtains horror-like, sinister relish. There likewise might be some feministic nuances included, nevertheless they are not that visible or excessively implied as none of the characters is glorified, possibly except for quasi-angelic Otoko who is destructed by her fatal memories.

    Despite not implicating any spectacularly spellbinding or divine scenes, the movie remains a remarkably effective psychological drama which succeeds almost on every level. Its flaws are scarcely noticeable and the moral ambiguity as well as the cruelty surrounding the whole story adds to the zest. It's a highly rewarding cinematic experience filled with great beauty and overwhelming sadness that makes us ponder on darker impulses of human nature.

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    Storyline

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    • Connections
      Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 28, 1965 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • With Beauty and Sadness
    • Production company
      • Shochiku
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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