GOHATTO-aka Taboo

[KhawMengLee]

http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=717119791247

Anyone seen this movie. Very cool fights scenes and its a rather interesting look into the attitudes to homosexuality during pre-modern japan.

[ben]

Yeah it was on SBS-TV about a month ago. The fighting was interesting, but still fairly run-of-the-mill TV chanbara I thought, mainly because each bout had to carry this enormous melodramatic weight.

Overall I thought it was disappointing, and I'm a bit of a fan of Oshima. Maybe I need to watch it again. The attitudes to homosexuality were quite amusing. It was treated as a fairly normal occurence. There were several "not that there's anything wrong with that" kind of remarks which were quite lol funny compared to the po-faced melodrama of the rest of the film.

Three stars... Margaret?

:D
b

[KhawMengLee]

Yeah, the overall story I kinda thought was sketchy and the ending kinda lost me...but overall I liked the movie.

[Paburo]

some of us kendo mates went to see it together about a year ago.

the opinions were divided.

girls liked it :D :D

we boys were more critical about it.

the fights and the ambientation are cool for sure. and i'd pay just to see 'beat' takeshi sporting a maage anyway.

the plot is rather melodramatic-slow.

the shinsengumi uniforms and formations look very different to the historical reference, as i was told later by my japanese friend.

-spoiler ahead-

also, there is a lot of fantasy going around. while homosexuality was not that uncommon among samurai, perhaps the movie(based on a book though) goes a bit too far involving famous shinsengumi members into the plot. so it might as well give the impression -for a not so historically informed viewer-, that the shinsengumi were a bunch of 'gay samurais'.

my kendo mate was particularly angry about this. he said that if this movie gained popularity, people might start to think 'kendo' and 'samuraish' things would inevitably be linked with homosexuality.


ta-boo!

[Kiki]

Beautifully filmed. BTW the Japanese VHS has one scene the DVD does not.
****

[Kiki]

Also...

If you want to see some great sword fighting rent this film from Hong Kong:
"So Close". It's can be a bit melodramatic and even slow at times but the fight scenes especially the last one with are worth it. Rivals “Crouching Tiger” maybe even better.
Oh yes, the 3 women leads are beautiful so maybe you guys wont mind the slow parts...

[xvikingx]

Great film I thought. I far as I have read it seemed to be quite accurate as far as homosexual relationships between Samurai at that time. Because of the growing popularity of confucianism, men believed that women were so weak, that warriors often chose male partners. It was believed that too much of the female yin could seriously affect the male yang. he he he ^_^ In co-ordinance with the rest of society, the social superior would be the active partner.
I agree about the uniforms though, I felt they looked a little too modern personally. Other than that I thought the film was great. I am a fan of Oshima.

[James]

Does anyone know of some good reference on shinsengumi in English? (Fiction or not).
My wife remembers reading some novels based on them but thought they were all in Japanese and not translated.

Thanks
James

[Kiki]

Originally posted by James
Does anyone know of some good reference on shinsengumi in English? (Fiction or not).

Haven’t read these 2 and they are out of print but you can probably find them on-line some where:
“Shinsengumi” (don’ know the author)
and
“Shinsengumi no kyozo to nazo: bakumatsu doran o "makoto" ni junjita otoko no kiseki”
by Hideo Arai. Hope you can find the english translation

Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai
by Romulus Hillsborough
Peter West, British Kendo Association Newsletter, Summer 1999
"Hillsborough has painted a clear and thorough picture of the times and overlaid it with a compelling story of ingenuity and bravery, supported by 16 years of historical research in Japan. This is definitely one not to be missed by anyone interested in Japanese history, the Meiji restoration or the spirit and determination of the warrior classes of feudal Japan."

Ryoma Sakamoto was an Imperialist so you can learn about the Shinsengumi from a different perspective. I highly recommend this book.

The Sano Ichiro Detective Series
by Laura Joh Rowland
Set in the 1700s. Sano starts out as a head kendo instructor/police officer and he’s rises to become the Sousakan-sama - “Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People” for the Shougun. He’s part of the Shinsengumi. Good dective novels, a fun way to learn some history, lots of sword fights and of course sex.

and...last but not least...
Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan
by Gary P. Leupp
It’s a good sociology book and provocative considering this thread.

[officer_fujita]

Originally posted by Paburo

also, there is a lot of fantasy going around. while homosexuality was not that uncommon among samurai, perhaps the movie(based on a book though) goes a bit too far involving famous shinsengumi members into the plot. so it might as well give the impression -for a not so historically informed viewer-, that the shinsengumi were a bunch of 'gay samurais'.


I read that the 5th captain of the shinsengumi, Takeda Kanryuusai, preffered men. I don't know if this is true though.

For those looking for literature related to the shinsegumi, you can try looking for the book written by Nagakura Shinpachi (one of the commanding officers of the shinsengumi), Shinsengumi Tenmatsuuki.

[Kiki]

Originally posted by Kiki
Ryoma Sakamoto was an Imperialist

Thinking twice - I want to retract that statement.

BTW, last night on our local LA area Japanese station "Toku e Ikitai" was doing a segment on Hokaido. They went into a bit of the Shinsengumi’s history, in particular about Hijikata Toshizo, who was played by Beat Takeshi in “Gohatto”. They showed a photography of him, very handsome and young.

[dorkusxmaximus]

I finally saw the film and would like to say "My pooor poor virgin eyes!" And "That guy was evILLLL." Well, that sums up what I thought about the movie. The fight scenes were okay, but give me Toshiro Mifune films anyday.