Yumeji

FROM THE LINER NOTES

Yumeji is the final film in youth-gone-berserk auteur Seijun Suzuki’s acclaimed Taisho Trilogy. Sensual and absurdist, it spins a ghost story around the character and work of real-life painter and poet Yumeji Takehisa (1884-1934). The eponymous character — conjured by Suzuki as a chronic philanderer and dreamer played by former rock star Kenji Sawada — is plagued with ideals of perfect beauty and the terror of his own demise. He falls in love with women, but can never capture their hearts. He is constantly escaping his rivals, but can never face them down. As the film opens, Yumeji is on a scenic trip to Kanazawa, where he plans to meet Hikono (Masumi Miyazaki), his lover. Instead, he falls for Tomoyo, a recent widow whose husband, Wakiya (Yoshio Harada), was slain by the murderously jealous Onimatsu. Complications ensue when Wakiya returns from the dead; Onimatsu is understandably distraught. Yumeji is not deterred, however, setting out to seduce Tomoyo while avoiding the rages of Wakiya and Onimatsu, as well as a phalanx of ghosts, apparitions, and nightmares. (Japanese with English subtitles)