History Film / MishimaALifeInFourChapters

* {{Bishonen}}: Osamu, who is played by Japanese singer and all around pretty boy Creator/KenjiSawada.

* ClosetKey: The famous painting of a bare-chested Saint Sebastian being pierced by arrows prompts Kimitake's first [[ADateWithRosiePalms act of masturbation.]]

''Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters'' is a 1985 film directed by Creator/PaulSchrader (writer of ''Film/TaxiDriver'') and co-produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. It is a complexly structured biography of Japan's most famous modern writer, Creator/YukioMishima (portrayed by Ken Ogata,) and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin consists of four chapters]] (Beauty, Art, Action, Harmony of Pen and Sword) which are made up of three stylistically distinct threads woven together throughout each:

%%* FoeYay: Kimitake had a crush on the boy he wrestles during recess, you wouldn't know it unless you read the book however.

* FatalFlaw: Yukio Mishima was one of the most gifted writers of his time - and a raging right-wing loon who wanted to turn back time 400 years, didn't get why all other Japanese were so weary of nuclear weapons and idealized the emperor as a living god. Needles to say, it doesn't end well for him.

* FoeYay: Kimitake had a crush on the boy he wrestles during recess, you wouldn't know it unless you read the book however.

-->'''Officer:''' You have firearms?
-->'''Isao:''' We'll only use swords. Our best weapon is purity.

** Mishima ultimately shares each of these characters traits: Mizoguchi's obsession with with an object's beauty and wanting to set it free -- in Mishima's case, Japan's traditional ideals from the shackles of materialism, Osamu's masochistic loyalty to his master -- in Mishima's case, the master being his ideal vision of Japan, and Isao's ultranationalistic tendencies.

** Mishima ultimately shares each of these characters traits: Mizoguchi's obsession with with an object's beauty and wanting to set it free -- in Mishima's case, Japan's traditional ideals from the shackles of materialism, Osamu's masochistic loyalty to his master and being willing to die for her -- in Mishima's case, the master being his ideal vision of Japan, and Isao's ultranationalistic tendencies.

** ''"I trembled with joy, my loins swelled, my hands unconsciously began a motion I have never been taught."''

* NotSoDifferent: Mishima says this about his own "Shield Society" and the radical leftists who occupied Tokyo University - except that the Shield Society has the Emperor on their side.

* ClosetKey: The famous painting of a bare-chested Saint Sebastian being pierced by arrows prompts Kimtake's first [[ADateWithRosiePalms act of masturbation.]]

** The scenes set on the last day of Mishima's life are shot in colour, with a lot of hand-held camera, in a quasi-documentary style reminiscent of films by Creator/CostaGavras, e.g. ''Film/{{Z}}'' or ''Film/{{Missing}}''.

* The last day of Mishima's life. From waking up for the last time to taking a small group of cadets from his private army to the headquarters of the Japanese military and finally attempting a coup [[spoiler: which fails miserably and ends in his suicide via seppuku.]] [[FramingDevice The basic anchor for the movie.]]

* ''Temple of the Golden Pavilion.'' The story of stuttering temple attendant Mizoguchi, his highly cynical club-footed friend Kashiwagi, the eponymous temple, and a case of [[spoiler: Stendhal Syndrome/Schizophrenia induced arson.]]
* ''Kyoko's House.'' While originally following four characters, the movie focuses on only one of them for brevity- Osamu. A narcissistic two-bit actor who [[spoiler: gets into a sadomasochistic relationship with a female loan-shark after she harasses his mother's cafe. He ends up committing murder/suicide with said lover in accordance with his nihilism and perception of life as ultimate art. A sentiment strikingly mirrored by Mishima toward the end of his life.]]
* ''Runaway Horses.'' A decade before WWII the young right-wing aligned Isao conspires to wrest control of the government from the capitalists and give it fully back to the Emperor. [[spoiler: He raises a small contingent of youths, makes a speech about honor and duty, gets arrested, begs for torture only to get an educational pep-talk, escapes, kills a man and commits seppuku. Again, something eerily imitated by Mishima himself in real life.]]

** The scenes set on the last day of Mishima's life are shot in colour, with a lot of hand-held camera, in a quasi-documentary style reminiscent of films by Costa-Gavras, e.g. ''Film/{{Z}}'' or ''Film/{{Missing}}''.

* TooKinkyToTorture: Osamu is cut by a razor, and decides that it feels ''good''. Later, he's shown with bigger scars and bruises, and says that "stage blood is not enough" for him.

* {{Bishonen}}: Osamu, who is played by Japanese singer and all around pretty boy Kenji Sawada.

[[quoteright:284:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MishimaALifeInFourChapters_8.jpg]]

Due to the movie being Japanese with subtitles (except for the English narration) and the demands it placed upon its viewers, the movie failed to turn into a commercial success, instead becoming a favorite of critics and winning the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cannes Film Festival. It is also notable for having a simply stunning score composed by Philip Glass, a significant part of the film's beauty.

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IksljNs1N3w Trailer here.]]

''Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters'' is a 1985 film directed by Creator/PaulSchrader (writer of ''TaxiDriver'') and co-produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. It is a complexly structured biography of Japan's most famous modern writer, Creator/YukioMishima (portrayed by Ken Ogata,) and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin consists of four chapters]] (Beauty, Art, Action, Harmony of Pen and Sword) which are made up of three stylistically distinct threads woven together throughout each:

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Mizoguchi stops stuttering after having sex for the first time and becomes much more self-assured. [[spoiler: Which is to say, self-assured enough to finally burn down the Golden Pavilion himself. For all the good it did him.]]

* ''Runaway Horses.'' A decade before WWII the young right-wing aligned Isao conspires to wrest control of the government from the capitalists and give it fully back to the Emperor. [[spoiler: He raises a small contingent of youths, has a saccharine honor-and-duty speech on a styrofoam set, gets arrested, begs for torture only to get an educational pep-talk, escapes, kills a man and commits seppuku. Again, something eerily imitated by Mishima himself in real life.]]

* BannedInChina: Not exactly banned, but the movie has a very low profile in Japan because the far-right doesn't like the candid way Mishima's homosexuality is portrayed.