Zigeunerweisen

"ZIGEUNERWEISEN is the best among the trinity, for being a more ludic and freewheeling vehicle that is almost unperturbed by affective force, and its psychic elements are more pellucid (a young daughter communicates with her dead father through dreams, versus the elusive suicidal pact in KAGERO-ZA), plus the inclusion of a triad of blind mendicant minstrels, chanting ribald ditties while the hierarchy of their sex preference goes through an irreverent modulation."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks!

Suzuki is generally known for his outrageous, eye-popping imagery. I think his films actually contain a lot of depth and are great besides that imagery, but I know it's the visuals that bring him his fame. This film, independently produced after a long hiatus from film-making, is a different kind of Suzuki. A VERY different Suzuki. Zigeunerweisen, named after a musical composition that plays a couple of times during the film and a record of which plays an important part of the plot, is a rather slowly paced art film, a very long one at that, with an almost European feeling. There are a few striking images in its two and a half hours (most notably a woman licking a man's eyeball), but it isn't the phantasmagoria of Suzuki's earlier films, or his later films. The dialogue is often weird and poetic. My favorite line was "You caress me as if sucking my very bones." The film takes place during the Taisho period, which occurred after the Meiji Restoration during the 20s and 30s. It is a period marked by further Westernization and a loss of traditional values (I might be wrong, but I think Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses is set during the same period). The story involves two friends, a professor and a vagabond, and their relationships with their wives, as well as a geisha they once met on a vacation. There isn't too much story, per se. The vagabond marries a woman who looks identical to the geisha, but doesn't stay faithful, or even at home. The film is mostly told from the point of view of the professor (played by Toshiya Fujita, the director of Lady Snowblood). Like I said, the film is very deliberately paced. It was hard to stay interested at times. But the movie moves toward a mysterious and haunting finale. I don't think I get it, but I found the whole film intriguing, at least. Not my favorite Suzuki by a long shot, but maybe I'll understand it better on a subsequent viewing (which probably won't happen for a long while).

I never thought I would say this about a Seijun Suzuki film, but my god was this boring. For starters, its meandering story told at a snail's pace should have been about an hour shorter. It often felt surreal just for the sake of being surreal, e.g. The trio of beggars with bizarre affectations singing their raunchy songs, the eyeball licking, etc. Other times it was just banal, with conversations that seemed pointless to me. It is marginally better in its final half hour, but that's not saying much. I never felt cohesion or a payoff that warranted all of the silliness, and this is not one I'd care to sit through again.

I'm a huge Suzuki fan, but this was one I had never got a chance to see. Well I finally did and its surreal. I guess all his films are that way, but this one was really out there for me. Really beautiful and interesting all at the same time. He's the master so I just love watching whatever he puts out. If you're a Suzuki fan, watch for sure. If not then it may be too much for you.

I understand 1980s japan liked it.

I understand most people on here like it 10/10 and such.

I dont really care about why it's a German name or any of the factiods on the Wikipedia page.

I enjoyed it as an experience, but the story was kinda vague. If you're gonna watch this appreciate it as you would a painting. But don't watch this for the story.