Review The Mystery of Rampo

[divemaster13]

Monday's review...time for a Japanese film (The Mystery of Rampo)

Previous reviews:
2/13: A Tale of Two Sisters
2/20: Comrades, Almost a Love Story
2/27: A Chinese Tall Story

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The Mystery of Rampo (1994)
Directed by Kazuyoshi Okuyama
Starring Masahiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka, and Michiko Hada
In Japanese with English subtitles
Film: 5 stars (out of 5)

I love it when a director shows me something new--reaches me in a novel way. The visually stunning and thought-provoking The Mystery of Rampo certainly fits the bill. In reading a couple of reviews prior to watching this film, I was led to believe that it would be at best an exercise in trying to follow stream-of-consciousness, overly pretentious filmmaking; or at worst, plotless incoherency.

I did not find that to be the case at all. Of course it is a rather unconventional film that owes a lot to the school of Metafiction, with definite shades of David Lynch. But I never felt lost or manipulated, or felt that the director (Okuyama) and cinematographer (Yasushi Sasakibara) were just showing off. I could probably deconstruct what happened plotwise scene by scene if I were so inclined. But that’s not the point. I’d rather sit back and revel in the experience and allow myself to appreciate the intriguing vision of the director.

Basic plot: A mystery writer (Rampo, played by Naoto Takenaka) creates a story where a woman murders her husband by allowing him to suffocate in a trunk. He tries to get permission to continue writing and publish his story, but the Japanese censor board, having read the first chapter or so, is having none of it. Frustrated, he burns his manuscript.

The next day, he reads a story in the newspaper where a woman named Shizuko (Michiko Hada) murders her husband by allowing him to suffocate in a trunk. He is flummoxed because no one but him had any clue about his story. The fact that she understands that her fate is somehow in the hands of the author only adds to the intrigue.

After the disappointment at the censor board, Rampo endures further insult to his artistic integrity as his previous works are made into ridiculous screenplays and insipid movies. You can see his disillusionment as he attends publicity parties and press events. In one scene, as he watches a pre-screening of the latest film adaptation, you can just see the disgust boiling up in him, without him even having to say a word. Could the life of an author who can barely contain or control his creativity sink any lower? Is it no wonder that he would rather fall into a fantasy world where his artistry and imagination can break the limitations placed on him by society?

It is at this point that the film veers into the realm of the imagination where characters are not bound by the constraints of reality. Is fantasy imitating life or is life imitating fantasy? Is he writing the story or is the story writing him? Or are they inexorably intertwined?

The director has a few other nice and unconventional touches. For example, the opening scenes use stock footage of daily life in imperialistic Japan, thus suggesting the oppressing sociological culture Rampo has to work within. Another interesting approach is the initial “story within the story” being depicted in hand-drawn animation. And there are other very subtle touches (flashes of color; intriguing looks; visages being superimposed on the actors or characters) that make repeat viewings incredibly rewarding. This is a film of layers.

I've seen this movie many times--it is gorgeous and captivating. Hada’s beauty is transcendent. I agree with another reviewer who said "just about every scene in the film could be framed and sold as an art poster." Akira Senju’s score (played by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra) is a perfect fit and some of the prettiest music I’ve ever heard in a film.

A wonderful experience all around.

*Trivia note:* Edogawa Rampo was a real person. It is the pseudonym for acclaimed Japanese mystery writer Hirai Taro who took the name as an inside joke. Say “Edogawa Rampo” slowly (slurring over the “wa” helps) and with the inflection of a Japanese trying to speak English for the first time and see if you can’t come up with Taro’s favorite author.

 

[sitenoise]

I have procured this.

 

[clayton-12]

Over the course of the weekend I took a wrong turn on my way to My Dream Boat, and ended up watching The Mystery of Rampo (which was simply titled Rampo on my print). I think your description of the film sums things up very nicely, even though I wasn’t as personally enamoured of it as you.

One interesting thing I found was that your review and the other comments I read about the film afterwards take the point of view that Shizuko and her fictional counterpart murdered their husbands. Although the narrative of both stories had strong indicators of guilt, I had a sense of ambiguity as to whether either had actually committed the crime – in fact, I thought Rampo shared my sense of ambiguity. Of course, maybe if I watched it again I would change my mind – as you say, it was a film of layers.

As for your comment that you can see Rampo’s disillusionment as he attends publicity parties and press events, that scene where he is coerced into giving a speech was a classic!

 

[divemaster13]

One interesting thing I found was that your review and the other comments I read about the film afterwards take the point of view that Shizuko and her fictional counterpart murdered their husbands. Although the narrative of both stories had strong indicators of guilt, I had a sense of ambiguity as to whether either had actually committed the crime – in fact, I thought Rampo shared my sense of ambiguity. Of course, maybe if I watched it again I would change my mind – as you say, it was a film of layers.

I'm glad you checked it out. As far as the "murder" goes, I agree that it wasn't pre-meditated. But it seemed pretty clear to me that once the lady in the animated story discovered that her weak and sickly husband had inadvertently locked himself in the trunk, she saw her chance to escape the marriage and "found other things to do" while he suffocated. It wan't as clear with Shizuko, but since Rampo was writing her story as well, I made that assumption. (It does add drama to the scene later when she opens the trunk and asks Akeshi/Rampo to step inside while she closes the lid!)

 

[clayton-12]

it seemed pretty clear ... she saw her chance to escape the marriage and "found other things to do" while he suffocated

I agree with this - I think in those beginning scenes, the story was presented so that there was no doubt that the husband was discovered while still alive, and she deliberately finished him off. What I was trying to allude to was the idea that the story was unfinished, and that there was therefore this sense of mystery that all might not be what it seemed to be - not only in the film proper, but in the fictional story within the film. Even with that later scene when Shizuko is asking Akeshi to step inside the trunk, I felt the dramatic tension was as much from the uncertainty of whether there actually was any danger as the 'oh-no-she's-going-kill-him' sense.

Anyway, thanks for recommendation, and I hope you keep the reviews coming!