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Drama

Sansho the Bailiff

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In medieval Japan, a woman and her children journey to find the family's patriarch, who was exiled years before.

Release Date : 1954-03-31

Language :Japanese

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Daiei Film

Production Country : Japan

Alternative Titles : The BailiffSansho the Bailiff

Cast

Kinuyo Tanaka

Character Name : Tamaki

Original Name : 田中絹代

Gender : Female

Yoshiaki Hanayagi

Character Name : Zushiô

Original Name : 花柳喜章

Gender : Male

Kyōko Kagawa

Character Name : Anju

Original Name : 香川京子

Gender : Female

Eitarō Shindō

Character Name : Sanshô dayû

Original Name : 進藤英太郎

Gender : Male

Ichirō Sugai

Character Name : Minister of Justice

Original Name : 菅井一郎

Gender : Male

Bontarō Miake

Character Name : Kichiji

Original Name : 見明凡太朗

Gender : Male

Yōko Kozono

Character Name : Kohagi

Original Name : 小園蓉子

Gender : Female

Chieko Naniwa

Character Name : Ubatake

Original Name : 浪花千栄子

Gender : Female

Kikue Mōri

Character Name : Priestess

Original Name : 毛利菊枝

Gender : Female

Ken Mitsuda

Character Name : Prime Minister Fujiwara

Original Name : 三津田健

Gender : Male

Masao Shimizu

Character Name : Masauji Taira

Original Name : 清水将夫

Gender : Male

Ryōsuke Kagawa

Character Name : Ritsushi Kumotake

Original Name : 香川良介

Gender : Male

Akitake Kōno

Character Name : Taro

Original Name : 河野秋武

Gender : Male

Kanji Koshiba

Character Name : Kaikudo Naito

Original Name : 小柴幹治

Gender : Male

Shinobu Araki

Character Name : Sadaya

Original Name : 荒木忍

Gender : Male

Masahiko Tsugawa

Character Name : Young Zushiō

Original Name : 津川雅彦

Gender : Male

Keiko Enami

Character Name : Young Anju

Original Name : Keiko Enami

Gender : Male

Teruko Omi

Character Name : Nakagimi

Original Name : 近江輝子

Gender : Female

Kimiko Tachibana

Character Name : Namiji

Original Name : 橘公子

Gender : Female

Reiko Kongō

Character Name : Shiono

Original Name : 金剛麗子

Gender : Female

Shōzō Nanbu

Character Name : Masasue Taira

Original Name : 南部彰三

Gender : Male

Ryōnosuke Azuma

Character Name : Landlord

Original Name : Ryōnosuke Azuma

Gender : Male

Kazukimi Okuni

Character Name : Norimura

Original Name : Kazukimi Okuni

Gender : Male

Saburo Date

Character Name : Kimpei

Original Name : 伊達三郎

Gender : Male

Sumao Ishihara

Character Name : Yakko

Original Name : 石原須磨男

Gender : Male

Ichirō Amano

Character Name :

Original Name : 天野一郎

Gender : Male

Midori Komatsu

Character Name : Harbour's Lady

Original Name : 小松みどり

Gender : Female

Yukio Horikita

Character Name : Jiro

Original Name : 堀北幸夫

Gender : Male

Jun Fujikawa

Character Name : Kanamaru

Original Name : 藤川準

Gender : Male

Sōji Shibata

Character Name : Sado Man

Original Name : Sōji Shibata

Gender : Male

Akira Shimizu

Character Name : Slave Trader

Original Name : 清水彰

Gender : Male

Tokio Oki

Character Name : Harbour's Man

Original Name : 沖時男

Gender : Male

Akira Shiga

Character Name : Farmer #2

Original Name : Akira Shiga

Gender : Male

Goro Nakanishi

Character Name :

Original Name : Goro Nakanishi

Gender : Male

Hachiro Okuni

Character Name : Saburo Miyazaki

Original Name : Hachiro Okuni

Gender : Male

Akiyoshi Kikuno

Character Name :

Original Name : Akiyoshi Kikuno

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-01-04

When a benign provincial governor tries to intervene to protect his people from the brutality of the military, he is stripped of his rank and banished. His wife and children are forced to follow him, on foot, some time later and hopelessly ill-equipped for that task they fall prey to people traffickers who split the family up. The young daughter and son soon find themselves bought by the eponymous character and forced into cruel manual labour that only his son "Taro" (Akitake Kôno) seems at all concerned about. Can he help? Can they manage to keep some semblance of their erstwhile decency and nobility in the face of such indifference and oppression? Will the family ever reconcile? This is a glorious film to look at. The photography is dark, gloomy and hugely effective at eliciting a feeling of sorrow for the children as they struggle to survive in their new lives. There are glimmers of optimism, but Kenji Mizoguchi manages our expectations well. There is no yellow brick road here, the sunlit uplands are definitely there but we have no idea when (or if) one or other or neither of the children may ever reach them. The acting is poised and characterful - especially the young "Anju" (Kyôko Kagawa) who tries to look out for her initially weak and vulnerable younger brother "Zushio" (Yoshiaki Hanayagi). It is beautifully scored with a mixture of Japanese and classical themes that compliment well the contrasting images of poverty, wealth, cruelty and kindness of this story of barbarity and revenge. The cinematography does benefit from a big screen - it makes the story and the imagery all the more impactful, but even on a television this is is two hours that truly keeps you gripped.