Categories

The Great Acting Blog: “A Tragic View”

The Great Acting Blog: “A Tragic View”

Harakiri

“I like the futility of effort – the uphill road to failure is a very human thing” – Jean-Pierre Melville

My penchant for Samurai films has lead me to Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 masterpiece, Harakiri. The film is set in the world of the 17th century samurai, and centres on the notion: “the honour in death – and the death of honour”. Tatsuya Nakadai plays an impoverished samurai, who  visits the House of the Iyi Clan, and requests he be given somewhere to perform harakiri  (the samurai ritual suicide by disembowelment). Just before Nakadai  is to kill himself however, he begins to recount his fate to the surrounding clan, and here the film cuts to the past. It transpires that Nakadai has fallen into abject poverty, ironically because Japan is at peace, a peace Nakadai helped to forge by fighting in the civil war,  but because of that peace, demand for the samurais’ services has slumped, and many are forced to wander as ronin (masterless samurai), looking for work (unfortunately, the samurai cannot take normal jobs, because it may cause trouble). Despite his poverty however, Nakadai refuses to give up his beautiful daughter to a clan because she will be turned into a concubine, instead, he encourages her to marry the honorable but equally impoverished and unemployed samurai, Motome Chijiiwa, played by Akira Ishihama. They have a child, but the mother falls ill, and soon the child does to, catching a fever. In general, the film is about the individual who stands alone, who refuses institutional comfort, preferring a true and singular life, even if it means additional toil. Crucially, Harakiri is a film which acknowledges that life is tragic, that we humans are flawed, and no matter how hard we try, more often than not we are doomed to fail. There is one heartbreaking scene in Harakiri which reveals this, where Nakadai, at his wits end, is explaining to his grandson who lays in coma, that they have run out of options, that they have sold everything they own in order to keep the boy alive, but now they have nothing left (the boy’s father, Motome, has even sold his two samurai swords, replacing them with bamboo facsimiles – the swords are deemed to be the samurai’s very soul).  The tragedy is the fact that this situation could have been avoided, the choices Nakadai made to safeguard his family, have infact lead to it’s destruction: he decided his daughter should marry the samurai Motome, a pauper,  who now cannot afford a physician to keep his child alive. Watching this scene, I dropped my head as I felt shame, then looking up again, I felt sorrow – seeing this good and noble warrior beg his unconscious grandson for a forgiveness which can never be forthcoming, was hard to bear. Luckily though, it is only a film, and so Nakadai experiences these trials and tribulations in the land of make believe. The point is, tragedy enables us (the audience)  to see that we are not perfect, that we can come up short, and damningly so at times. Tragedy strips us of our intellectual arrogance (if only for a moment), and offers us  a chance to acknowledge our helplessness. We are not perfect. That’s why I have never been interested in disaster movies or superhero movies – they’re a comforting lie – we don’t have the power to re-direct meteors heading toward Earth, and we can’t put on a pair of underpants and fly to Mars. It’s also why I’ve always loved film noir, the protagonist is an ordinary person with an accomplishable goal, but he often fails, or at least, if he succeeds, it is at a far greater cost than he could ever have imagined.

Since writing “Create Precisely The Body Of Work You Want”, I have started to think a tragic view of the world can help us do just that. A tragic view enables us to be braver, to stand alone, to identify those things we want to fight for, and go out and fight for them. It is a concern with perfectionism which holds us back . Someone responded last week that “success” differed from person to person – well yes, but I would go even further and say that success and failure are highly ambiguous, whatever your definition of them. The perfectionist view implies that there is a perfect result, and any outcome other than that perfect result is a disaster. So, with the perfectionist burden too heavy to bear, we trundle along on the prescribed path, regardless of how meaninglessness and fruitless it may be – it’s numbing, but at least we’ll feel no pain. Perhaps you have an idea about precisely the kind of work you want to do, but you’re not being offered anything like it, so you may need to step out and create it yourself – and creating it yourself is difficult because you will be criticised for not being attached to an established institution, and in any case, your precious creation could fall apart, and you could be left with nothing other than the ridicule of your peers. Absolutely. And so what? Nakadai could have made  his life considerably easier by sending his daughter away to become a concubine, but he refused on a point of principle. That your decision to employ your principles (and an aesthetic is a principle) may lead to disaster, is not an excuse to not employ them. How serious are you about doing precisely the kind of work you want? The tragic view encourages us to go for it because it accepts that we may fail miserably, and so the perfectionist burden is removed. If we do infact fail in our task, fine, but that failure will not destroy us – we’ll live to fight another day.

Creating precisely the work you want to do, is, on the one hand, liberating, because you seize control of each action step, you’re not relying on somebody else to come through for you (which happens almost all the time if you are an actor), but on the other hand, it is more frightening, precisely because you are controlling the steps – if it should all fall apart, you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself, and that can be a very lonely place. However, if we accept the tragic view of the world, that, despite our very best efforts, we may still fall short, then we may make braver choices, and seize that thing we want from the fire.

James

52Comments
  • James Devereaux/ 17.12.2011Reply

    Yes, all masterpieces have economy, and Harakiri certainly does. Too many films are simply noise, designed as a mere distraction. But Harakiri is a film the viewer can invest in, and is richly rewarded for doing so. Many thanks for your excellent comment Andrew.

  • Alisa/ 24.01.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Your posts are always well presented.

  • Will/ 04.02.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com admin, You always provide great examples and real-world applications, thank you for your valuable contributions.

  • Philipp/ 04.02.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Your posts are always a great source of knowledge.

  • Miles/ 05.02.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Thanks for the well-researched post!

  • Mai/ 06.02.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com administrator, You always provide useful tips and best practices.

  • Susana/ 06.02.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Keep it up!

  • Darcy/ 10.02.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com admin, Thanks for the great post!

  • Rob/ 11.02.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com owner, Your posts are always thought-provoking and inspiring.

  • Jimmie/ 13.02.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com admin, Your posts are always well structured and easy to follow.

  • Berniece/ 13.02.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com administrator, You always provide useful tips and best practices.

  • Winona/ 22.02.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com owner, Your posts are always well received by the community.

  • Virgie/ 22.02.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com admin, Thanks for the well-organized and comprehensive post!

  • Efren/ 28.02.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com owner, Thanks for the informative post!

  • Lyn/ 01.03.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Good work!

  • Gabriel/ 02.03.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com admin, Keep up the good work, admin!

  • Agnes/ 02.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com owner, You always provide key takeaways and summaries.

  • Miranda/ 08.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com owner, Your posts are always well-supported by facts and figures.

  • Margarita/ 11.03.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com owner, Thanks for the post!

  • Gus/ 16.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com owner, Keep sharing your knowledge!

  • Ezekiel/ 24.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com owner, Excellent work!

  • Corey/ 24.03.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Your posts are always well structured and easy to follow.

  • Deangelo/ 26.03.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com owner, Great job!

  • Venetta/ 26.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Your posts are always well-supported by facts and figures.

  • Hugo/ 28.03.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com admin, Your posts are always well structured and easy to follow.

  • Mindy/ 30.03.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com owner, Your posts are always thought-provoking and inspiring.

  • Penney/ 30.03.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com owner, You always provide great resources and references.

  • Frankie/ 30.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Your posts are always on topic and relevant.

  • Manuela/ 30.03.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com admin, Thanks for the valuable information!

  • Derrick/ 05.04.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Keep sharing your knowledge!

  • Nelly/ 06.04.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Your posts are always well-written and easy to understand.

  • Bernd/ 08.04.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com administrator, You always provide useful links and resources.

  • Dee/ 11.04.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com admin, You always provide clear explanations and step-by-step instructions.

  • Andrea/ 14.04.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com admin, Thanks for the well-organized and comprehensive post!

  • Shawnee/ 16.04.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Thanks for the well-researched and well-written post!

  • Ian/ 21.04.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com admin, You always provide practical solutions and recommendations.

  • Elyse/ 20.05.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com admin, Thanks for the well-organized and comprehensive post!

  • Malorie/ 09.06.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com admin, Your posts are always informative and well-explained.

  • Deb/ 14.08.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Thanks for the valuable information!

  • Serena/ 18.10.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Your posts are always well researched.

  • Haley/ 23.10.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com owner, You always provide helpful information.

  • Relaxing Jazz/ 24.10.2023Reply

    Relaxing Jazz

  • Domingo/ 29.10.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com owner, Thanks for the well-researched and well-written post!

  • Doretha/ 01.11.2023Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com admin, Keep it up!

  • Erma/ 03.11.2023Reply

    To the jamesdevereaux.com admin, Thanks for the valuable information!

  • Dominique/ 10.11.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Your posts are always a great source of knowledge.

  • Margarette/ 20.11.2023Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com admin, Your posts are always well written.

  • Rosaura/ 29.12.2023Reply

    Hi jamesdevereaux.com admin, Keep the good content coming!

  • Sandra/ 05.01.2024Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com admin, Your posts are always a great source of information.

  • Zoila/ 07.01.2024Reply

    Hello jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-delivered and engaging.

  • Norma/ 14.03.2024Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com administrator, Your posts are always well-formatted and easy to read.

  • Lazaro/ 14.03.2024Reply

    Dear jamesdevereaux.com webmaster, Nice post!

Leave a Comment