Blu-Ray Review: Subtle Beauty of Somber ‘Pale Flower’

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CHICAGO – I’ve been lucky enough to cover a number of fantastic Criterion Collection releases for films that I already counted among my favorites including Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion,” Stanley Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory,” Wim Wenders’ “Wings of Desire,” and David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome.” While that’s an undeniable joy, it’s almost more fun when a Criterion title arrives for a film that I’ve never seen — a lost classic. Such was the case with this month’s “Pale Flower,” a somber gem about sad people in a changing world.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

Masahiro Shinoda’s “Pale Flower” opens with an interesting narration from lead Muraki (Ryo Ikebe), a hardcore Yakuza who has just been released from prison for murder. He misanthrophically comments on the “beasts” around him and the changing world he sees. Why should anyone be put in jail for putting just a pathetic creature out of the misery created by this world?

Pale Flower was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 17, 2011
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

Muraki clearly is a lost, troubled soul with a frozen heart but he opens up when he becomes attached to a similarly misplaced creature, a lonely gambler named Saeko (Marijo Kaga). She clearly has a gambling addiction that spirals into even darker places. She’s both a symbol of a new world — a female in a very masculine environment — but also something that attracts Muraki from the tedium of his existence. Like so many advancements, she is both exciting and a hint of problems to come.

Pale Flower was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 17, 2011 Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

With an unbelievable eye for composition, Shinoda crafts a melancholy story that honestly looks nowhere near its nearly half-century age. Other than the auto models, the film looks nearly modern, helped in no small part by Criterion’s stunning HD transfer.

The special features on “Pale Flower” are a bit scant but this isn’t a title where one would expect copious bonus material. There probably isn’t much archival material that was created at the time, unlike something like, say, “Broadcast News.” This is one of those releases in The Criterion Collection where the film itself is key, not the special features. You probably haven’t seen “Pale Flower.” You should.

Synopsis:
In this cool, seductive jewel of the Japanese New Wave, a yakuza, fresh out of prison, becomes entangled with a beautiful yet enigmatic gambling addict; what at first seems a redemptive relationship ends up leading him further down the criminal path. Bewitchingly shot and edited and laced with a fever-dreamlike score by Toru Takemitsu (Woman In The Dunes, Ran), this breakthrough gangster romance from Masahiro Shinoda (Samurai Spy, Double Suicide) announced an idiosyncratic major filmmaking talent. The pitch-black Pale Flower (Kawaita hana) is an unforgettable excursion into the underworld.

Special Features:
o New video interview with director Masahiro Shinoda
o Selected-scene audio commentary by film scholar Peter Grilli, coproducer of Music For The Movies: Toru Takemitsu
o Original theatrical trailer
o Booklet featuring an essay by film critic Chuck Stephens

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com