This is an adaptation of "So Saburo before the hair" in "The Blood Wind of the Shinsengumi" by Sima Ryotaro. It tells that the Shinsengumi has recruited a young man named Sozaburo Ghana, who is skilled in swordsmanship and handsome. There is a trend of male sex in the Shinsengumi. Garner was boldly pursued by his teammates, and at the same time consciously and unconsciously attracted and seduced the members of the Shinsengumi, even the leaders of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isamu and Hijikata Toshizo. Because he is young and has a beauty-like appearance, everyone has never shown tolerance to this beautiful young man. He killed Yuzawa who had taken his body by force, attacked him with all his heart to lure Yamazaki, and blamed Tashiro Hiozo, who loved him deeply. This person's behavior has violated the regulation of the Shinsengumi's in-game regulations that there is no reason to fight privately, and will inevitably cause the team to fall apart, but Hijikata and Kondo could not bear to execute him. In the end, Garner was killed by the Shinsengumi's Chief Okita.
I used to think that "Godfado" was just a gay story, and I revisited the film again, and I felt that Nagisa Oshima's discussion had to be more than that.
At the end of the film, when Sosuke Okita and Toshizo Hijikata oversaw the execution of Sozaburo Tashiro, the director told a story called "The Alliance of Chrysanthemums". The story goes like this: A Confucian scholar saves a wounded samurai. After that, the two felt like-minded and inseparable, so they became brothers. One day, the samurai had to return to his country, Izumo, and the two made an appointment to meet again on the ninth day. On the ninth day, the scholar placed chrysanthemums and wine and vegetables at home, and waited for the return of the samurai with his mother. But after waiting for a long time, it was already dark and the samurai did not come back. The Confucian scholar asked his mother to go to bed first. He walked into the house and found the warriors coming by the wind. He was very happy to greet the warriors, but the warriors were full of sorrow and did not eat or drink. The samurai told the scholar that he was no longer alive. Because the samurai failed to return to the country to fight and could not return as promised, he committed suicide so that his ghost could return to see the Confucian scholar as promised. This is a story about keeping promises, but the chief thinks that it is a man's sex contract, a love story between two men. He said how much love would be enough to commit suicide for keeping promises. He also thinks that there is a masculine relationship between Hijikata and Kondo, because no third person can intervene between the two of them, and anyone who wants to intervene will be killed by Hijikata. This annoyed the earth. However, if you know the history of the Shinsengumi, you know that the members of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isamu and Hijikata Toshizo were all killed by Hijikata. From the perspective of changing the frame, the alliance between Kondo and Hijikata does have some similarities with the romantic relationship. Hijikata asked if the chief secretary was jealous of Kondo. The chief's answer was very interesting. The chief said that I was raised by the two of you, and I would not be jealous of you. This seems to answer the question. In fact, the chief secretary's words have two meanings. One is that he will not be jealous that Hijikata and Kondo both like Ghana, and the other is that he will not be jealous of Hijikata and Kondo's friendship. This remark implies that the relationship between Soji and Kondo and Hijikata is different from the friendship between Kondo and Hijikata. From this, Nagisa Oshima expressed through the mouth of the chief secretary that his definition of male sex is same-sex attraction. Same sex can also be friendship, love, or some kind of sympathetic relationship. But no matter what the result is, their psychology is the same, they are all male.
At the end of "The Imperial Law", the dialogue between the chief secretary and the earthwork is meaningful. The chief secretary said that he didn't like male sex, and even hated it, but he liked beautiful stories like "The Alliance of Chrysanthemums". The general secretary also mentioned the moral of the story, that is, people who are allied with men should not look for those who are light promises and few believers, but those who promise a lot of money. In the eyes of the chief secretary, Kondo and Hijikata are people who promise a lot of money, and their alliance is beautiful, while Ghana is a man of few promises. In the opinion of the general manager, while both Kondo and Hijikata are currently fascinated by Ghana, this person will definitely disintegrate the alliance between Kondo and Hijikata, causing the new selection group to disintegrate, and finally the general manager kills Garner for Hijikata and Kondo.
Looking back at Ghana's love is a tragedy. Young and handsome, even with a straight face and a stern smile, suitors come in like a swarm of bees and butterflies. The pursuit of male sex is so direct and burning. Because he was too young, in the face of these pursuits and even coercion, Garner first avoided, and finally chose to accept and surrender. He is also aware of his own charm, consciously or unintentionally to seduce others, frame him to hate pursuers and coercion. These behaviors are disgusting in the eyes of Souji Okita. The most tragic thing is that the person Garner loves in his heart is Soji Okita who is not interested in male sex.
Garner's love for the chief is carefully hidden in the movie. Because of the identity of the chief secretary, he dared not reveal it. Playing back a few clips of the film, we can see hints of the Ghana chief's affection.
Ghana played against the general manager, Ghana was dressed in white, and the general manager was dressed in black. Japanese kendo dress is white for women and black for men. The contrast between one white and one black dress, distinguishing the characteristics of the two, also implies that Ghana has the same admiration as the opposite sex attracts the general manager.
The film mentioned three times why Ghana, who came from a wealthy business family, participated in the Shinsengumi. The first time was when he first joined the Shinsengumi group, Tashiro asked Ghana, Ghana just pursed his lips; the second time was when a group member asked, Ghana answered with a blank face, "because it can kill people"; the third time was the chief secretary and Tufang talking about Ghana's joining The reason is that the Turkish side believes that the Shinsengumi has something to attract Ghana. Three answers imply that Ghana is here for the Director General.
Okita asked Garner to practice fencing with Inoue, reminding him to be merciful when Inoue's swordsmanship is not good. Most people don't take such advice to heart, but Garner took it to heart and gave way to the well when he practiced. Garner's approach to Inoue's performance is a kind of respect for his seniors, and there is no temptation. It can be seen that Garner accompanies Inoue to practice swordsmanship because of the general manager.
Imagine the situation of Garner being killed: Garner must be very happy when he sees his admiration for the chief director of Okita, greeting him with a smile, and he greets the chief with joy. At this moment, the chief secretary quickly pulled out his sword, and a graceful arc swept across it, just like the cherry tree that was chopped by the earthwork sword, the beautiful Ghana incense was destroyed.
The end of the movie leaves people feeling a sense of indescribable melancholy.
I like "The Imperial Law", not only because the film is solemn, euphemistic, and intriguing, but also because there are two characters in it that make me very satisfied. Here, I saw the perfect genius swordsman in my heart, Soji Okita. Soji Okita has a different color from others, handsome, clear-eyed, kind and easy-going, with a child-like smile, superb swordsmanship, and courageous fighting. Every time he appears in the movie, the sun shines brightly and happily. Such a person with a clear heart will not be fascinated by the beauty of Ghana. I am very satisfied with Shinji Takeda's perfect performance. The second is Hijikata Toshizo of Kitano Takeshi. As my favorite character in the Shinsengumi group, the success of Hijikata Toshizo's role is very important, which determines the key to whether I can continue to read the story. Although Kitano Takeshi's old face is far from the beautiful men in history, Kitano Takeshi has realized the calm temperament, meticulous thinking and calm personality of the ghost team leader quite well. This is something young actors can't do. Kitano Takeshi's version of Hijikata Toshizo is by far the most satisfying to me.
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