Masaki Kobayashi
Harakiri (Seppuku)

"Harakiri" is a film from 1962 directed by Masaki Kobayashi, set in the mid-17th century in feudal Japan. The story tells of an old "ronin" (masterless samurai) named Tsugomo who, upon visiting the palace of a Lord, requests hospitality and assistance to perform "seppuku" (hence the original title), which means an honorable suicide (a different ritual from "harakiri" as the official title suggests, poorly translated for the Western market), because he can no longer live with dignity. The noble agrees, but fearing a change of heart from the ronin, recounts that a similar event had happened recently where another ronin, Motome, had been forced to kill himself with a bamboo dagger, as he did not own a steel one, thus multiplying his suffering and damaging his dignity as a samurai. Tsugomo seems determined to continue, but before taking his life, he tells a sad tale.

The plot unfolds slowly and step by step the ronin unveils his story and justifies his request: the "seppuku" ritual, unlike harakiri, involves that after the aspirant suicide opens his belly with a dagger, a master swordsman decapitates the dying person so that his face is not disfigured by pain. Tsugomo, taking advantage of the temporary absence of high-ranking swordsmen in the palace, delaying the execution, unexpectedly reveals that his daughter was married to Motome from whom she had a son, Kingo. When the child fell ill, to afford the needed treatment, Motome even went as far as selling the swords, replacing them with bamboo weapons. Kingo died anyway and Motome was forced to take his life dishonorably without the noble having any pity for him. As if that were not enough, Tsugomo shows three locks of hair, each belonging to the master swordsmen who did not show up at the palace: in fact, the old ronin had challenged and defeated them in duels, taking the hair as a trophy, thus humiliating the three "Losing the braid is like losing the head" thunders Tsugomo, alluding to the bushido code that demands the three to die. The cards are on the table; the ronin never intended to commit seppuku, but merely to find his own revenge, embodied in a desperate battle of one man against dozens of warriors, against an entire society. Tsugomo dies in combat, and after the furious storm, night falls and calm returns.

"Seppuku" is a majestic and solemn film, martial and slow, very slow. In some ways, it recalls the narrative structure of classic tragedies, particularly Oedipus Rex, where much of the unfolding events are revealed through dialogues and it is through them that the truth is reached. The stately and formal dialogues, along with the depiction of the rigid etiquette of the samurai code, are an inexorable descent into the inferno of the human soul. The narration and the beautiful black and white images lead us through an ever-changing reality, a story that changes light minute by minute, and in this, it resembles "Rashomon" by Kurosawa, with the difference that here uncertainty gradually disappears and clearly sides are taken with the weak, the marginalized, the desperate. The director has repeatedly stated that "Seppuku" is not a costume film; it is a very current film, a fierce critique of modern society, of the hypocrisy of the powerful, and the lack not only of pity (in this case toward the poor Motome) but also of the much-vaunted correctness (the three master swordsmen) in applying bushido. The motionless agony of Tsugomo's spoken words leads to an explosion of exceptional violence in the finale, which leaves the viewer gratified both from a strictly visual point of view and as a worthy conclusion to a tale of suffering, pain, and repressed anger. The cinematography is wonderful, with tight shots investigating the eyes of the characters, camera movements are essential and almost exclusively limited to action scenes, settings are extremely well-crafted both for the depiction of the rich but austere palace of the noble, as well as for the poor interiors of the wooden houses and the few but spectacular exterior scenes. The duels leading up to the final bloodbath, which set the stage for the bloody and unorthodox resolution of what until then had been a portrayal of the useless formality which some are enslaved by, while others use to their own advantage, are anthology-worthy.

In Italy, there is a DVD version published by Rarovideo, in the original language with Italian subtitles. Perhaps the fact that it is not dubbed is a good thing because "Seppuku" is not an action movie, it is not a dramatic or historical film; it is a 360-degree masterpiece not to be "watched," but to be "observed" in reverent silence and I find it right that the viewing is not "tainted" by elements external to the original. Do not miss it for any reason!