The Graceful Brute

The Graceful Brute a.k.a. Elegant Beast (しとやかな獣, Shitoyakana kedamono) is a 1962 Japanese satirical comedy film[3] directed by Yuzo Kawashima and written by Kaneto Shindō.[4]

The Graceful Brute
しとやかな獣
Directed byYuzo Kawashima
Produced by
  • Osamu Yoneda
  • Masaki Suda
Written byKaneto Shindō
Starring
Music bySei Ikeno
CinematographyNobuo Munekawa
Edited byTatsuji Nakashizu
Production
company
Distributed byDaiei
Release date
  • 26 December 1962 (1962-12-26)
[1][2]
Running time
96 minutes[1][2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

The family of ex-naval officer Tokizo Maeda lives in a small urban concrete block apartment, always quick at hiding their belongings when the situation asks for a humble appearance. While daughter Tomoko, mistress (at her father's instruction) of a famous bestselling writer, won't stop borrowing money from her patron for the family, son Minoru, signed to a music talent agency, constantly embezzles the company's assets. Father and son both have their very own plans for the money: Tokizo invests in one military project after another, Minoru, to his father's consternation, spends it on his lover Yukie, none other than his agency's bookkeeper. When Yukie quits her job, using the occasion to end the liaison with Minoru, it turns out that she also had affairs with the company boss and the tax officer in charge, using the donations she received to finance her own hotel.

Cast
  • Ayako Wakao as Yukie Mitani, the agent's accountant
  • Yūnosuke Itō as Tokizo Maeda, ex soldier
  • Hisano Yamaoka as Yoshino, Tokizo's wife
  • Yūko Hamada as Tomoko, Tokizo's daughter
  • Eiji Funakoshi as Eisaku Kamiya, the tax collector
  • Manamitsu Kawabata as Minoru, Tokizo's son

Reception

Film scholar Alexander Jacoby called The Graceful Brute Kawashima's (who died the following year) last noteworthy film, stating that its "theatrical artificiality" and use of one single set mirrored director Nagisa Ōshima's techniques.[5]

References
  1. "しとやかな獣 (The Graceful Brute)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. "しとやかな獣 (The Graceful Brute)" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. Desser, David; Nolletti, Jr., Arthur, eds. (1992). Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-2532-0723-4.
  4. "The Graceful Brute [4K Digitally Restored Version]". TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  5. Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
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