Sansho the Bailiff

In the 1950s, before his death in 1956, Kenji Mizoguchi directed a whole series of masterpieces. Sansho the Bailiff has a very special place among them. The adaptation of Ogai Mori’s short story, based on a thousand-years-old legend, is considered the director’s highest achievement and a late crystallization of his style. The vision of 12^th century Japan founded on slavery and exploitation, is inspired by ukiyo-e art and traditional Japaneese theatre, but remains in a dialogue with contemporaneity. Through the history of siblings Zushiō and Anju, sold to work under the supervision of the merciless Sansho, Mizoguchi asked questions about post-war ethics, human rights, the validity of Buddhist values and the power of compassion. Seventy years after its premiere, the film not only retains all its depth, but also still impresses with the composition, light and skillful, long shots by cinematographer Kazuo Myagawa, a collaborator of Kurosawa, Ichikawa and Ozu. The siblings’ mother was played by the director’s muse Kinuyo Tanaka. The same year, she also directed The Moon Has Risen (also shown at the festival). 

Sebastian Smoliński

Kenji Mizoguchi (1898–1956) was a Japanese filmmaker. He directed roughly 100 films between 1923 and 1956, but didn’t gain international attention until the very end of his career. A recurring theme in his work is the social condition of women in Japan, both historically and in modern times. Among his best-known films are The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu (1952) and Ugetsu (1953).

4K restoration, carried out by the Kadokawa Corporation and The Film Foundation in collaboration with The Japan Foundation.