REBELLION

At the end of the 18th century, the eldest son of Sasahara, a court official, is compelled by Lord Matsudaira to marry the Lord's former mistress. Sasahara is displeased, but agrees when the boy is impressed by the girl's beauty, and when the first child is born, he loves it as if it were his own. When the Lord's heir dies, the girl is recalled to the castle because she is mother of the second son, now heir-apparent, and cannot remain the wife of a mere vassal. This is too much for Sasahara, who determines to expose the Lord's tyranny to the central government at Edo, but he can do nothing against the feudal concept of order. Scripted by the writer of Rashomon, with music by the artist who scored Woman in the Dunes, created by the director of other notable Japanese films — The Human Condition, Harakari and Kwaidan — and with Mifune as leading actor, Rebellion was one of the foremost features of 1967.

FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Festival.