Title: ヴィヨンの妻 (Viyon no Tsuma) English Title: Villon's Wife Release Date: October 10, 2009 (Japan) Villion’s Wife is based on the book of the same title by Dazai Osamu. However, having not read the book yet, I can’t write a correct essay of how well the movie follows the story. I can however, do my best to tell a little about the movie, which I really enjoyed and would highly recommend. This is a pretty accessible movie. That’s saying a fair amount already, as a lot of Osamu’s work tends to be based around depression, alcoholism, and suicide. The author himself committed suicide with one of his wives, in an eerily similar fashion to an attempt by one of the main characters in Villion's Wife. Despite this, the tone of the movie is not incredibly dark, and I would even venture to say, slightly encouraging. The protagonist, Sachi (played by Matsu Takako), is the young wife of the unpredictable, and rather out of control Otani (played by Asano Tadanobu). The character Otani is loosely based on Osamu himself, and it can be assumed that some of the movie is based on real events as well, as the book was semi-autobiographical. Matsu Takako plays a really memorable role. She patiently and lovingly endures the suffering and hardships brought on by her alcoholic, cheating husband in a role that is somehow both beautiful and painful to watch at the same time. With a forced half smile, she dresses up nicely, puts her baby on her back, and trudges out in search of her husband who has run away and left her with a pile of debts to pay off. The scenery is beautiful, the image of a young mother and child is beautiful, and yet the audience is moved to tears by sympathy for the direness of the situation. Asano Tadanobu is one of my favorite actors. He’s appeared in an exhaustive catalogue of movies, some of the more memorable ones that I’ve seen being Survive Style 5+ and Kitano Takeshi’s Zatoichi. He fit into this role so well, that I didn’t even realize it was him as I first started watching this movie. It didn’t seem at all like “this is Asano Tadanobu playing Otani,” rather it was entirely “this is Otani playing Osamu,” – he transcended his persona and become the character and it was really fantastic to watch. A great scene of Sachi hearing the details of her husband’s theft from a restaurant owner and learning the amount of debt her husband has accumulated. As it becomes clear that she is going to have to be the one to pay off the debt, she begins to laugh while tears are still streaming down her face. The scene was very touching, and also surprising for me, to see such a reaction (laughter) at a time when many would feel simply anger or sadness. This, however, is a good example of gomakasu, a reaction more familiar to Japan than the West and similar to laughing in spite of one’s self or one’s situation. And again, another scene sure to leave an impression, and one of the darkest scenes of the movie, is that of Otani and his lover Akiko attempting double suicide in the woods. The couple fills themselves on sake and sleeping pills, and Otani goes on to tie a noose around his neck while hanging off a waterfall. A shocking picture without a doubt, and yet, the composure of the two, and the collected way they go about it, their grim determinist outlook, make the whole thing seem strangely natural. Despite the impression that descriptions of scenes like these might give, I want to reiterate that this is a fairly accessible movie. The themes are simple, the story is simple – there aren’t a lot of things that are going to be lost over people’s heads. At the same time, it’s not a light watch and it’s not something that you’d want to have on in the background at a party. Be expected to be sucked into the author’s world, to be put in the shoes of a young woman who maintains hope amidst the hopeless, and to walk away fascinated by this amazing portrayal of Osamu’s work, Villon’s Wife.
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