Showroom Spotlight: Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters 15

Biopics make us groan. No matter how much filmmakers want to try to break away from the formula, there are narrative beats and tropes that always find themselves popping up.

In a stroke of genius, Paul Schrader’s Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters depicts the life of Yukio Mishima, the most infamous author in Japan, whilst intertwining his life with adaptations of the novels he wrote. These dramatisations of Mishima’s books in fact reveal his deeper fascinations and obsessions in a way showing scenes from his real life never could. By throwing caution to the wind, Schrader turns the biopic form into a study of both the art and the artist. All of which is underscored by an impeccable score by Koyaanisqatsi composer, Philip Glass.

I’ve chosen this film as my Spotlight partly because of the perfect timing with Mishima’s 100th birthday but also because it’s a film which I think feels more vibrant and exhilarating now than it did even when it was made. This film introduced me to Mishima’s work and I hope it does for you too. - Max Marriott