国宝
興行成績トップクラスの映画『国宝』を見て来た。前半は良かったが後半は面白くなく、だらだらと話が続く、何処で終わらせるか、監督も困ったようで、早く終わらないかと思った。
歌舞伎役者の跡取り（俊介）と血筋のない余所者（喜久雄）の悲劇を扱っている。跡取りは血筋に頼り、芸を磨かない。余所者は芸を磨いて名を上げるしかない。
半二郎を余所者に襲名させるところから話は面白くなる。二人それぞれの葛藤を描いているが、クライマックスがない。
無理に事件を起こしている。花井半二郎が交通事故で舞台に立てなくなる。白虎襲名披露の時に血を吐く。俊介が道成寺で足が動かなくなる。義足で「曽根崎心中」を熱演する。一つ一つのエピソードは引き付けるが、結局、全体として何なのか。盛り上がりとカタルシスがない。歌舞伎の見せ場を寄せ集めているから、「歌舞伎への招待」のような映画だ。
二人の若い俳優は道成寺や藤娘を踊る。素人にしては女形踊りが様になっている。特に、『曽根崎心中』で、「証拠なければ理もたたず。此上は徳さまも、死なねばならぬ品なるが、死ぬる覚悟が聞きたい」の台詞は上出来。
吉田修一の原作を脚色し過ぎたか。
National Treasure
I went to see National Treasure,
a film that ranks among the top box-office hits. The first half was good, but
the second half dragged on without being interesting. The story meandered, and
even the director seemed unsure of where to end it—I found myself wishing it
would finish sooner.
The film deals with the tragedy of a kabuki
heir, Shunsuke, and an outsider without lineage, Kikuo . The heir relies on
bloodline and neglects to refine his art, while the outsider has no choice but
to polish his craft and earn recognition.
The story becomes engaging once the outsider
is given the stage name Hanjiro. It depicts the struggles of both men, but
there is no real climax. Events are forced: Hanjiro is injured in a traffic
accident and can no longer perform; during the Byakko name-taking ceremony, he
coughs up blood; Hanjiro’s son loses the use of his legs while performing Dōjōji;
he later gives a passionate performance of The Love Suicides at
Sonezaki with a prosthetic leg. Each episode is compelling on its own,
but taken together, what does it amount to? There is no build-up, no catharsis.
Because it strings together a series of kabuki highlights, the film feels
almost like an “Invitation to Kabuki.”
Two young actors dance Dōjōji and Fuji
Musume. For amateurs, their onnagata dancing is surprisingly
convincing. In particular, in The Love Suicides at Sonezaki, the
line:
“Without proof, reason cannot stand. As
things have come to this, Tokusama too must die — but I would hear your resolve
to die.”
is delivered remarkably well.
Perhaps the adaptation strayed too far from
Shuichi Yoshida’s original novel.
