Performance Review: Miyoshi Umeki in "Sayonara" (1957)

Twister does occasionally enjoy those big, important (sometimes dated) message movies. I am fond of kinds that are about "looking closer"at the world, discovering redemption and morals, and basically digging deeper and discovering something new, while possessing subtle, nuanced layers of meaning and understandings. Like some movies, whose message is almost entirely contrived, false, and flat out messy, Joshua Logan's Sayonara is not as bad as those, but its faults easily rise to the top. Even in this Hollywoodized, major studio picture there is feeling and truly humane emotion being projected from within, and its thanks to the preformers...one of which went on to win the Oscar for her work, a certain special somebody by the name of..

....Miyoshi Umeki in Sayonara (1957)

The film's plot begins when Major Lloyd Guever and his men of the US Air Force become stationed in Japan, and he's all prejudiced against the Japanese, then he dumps his white fiance for a beautiful Japanese performer, and yadah, yadah, yadah. Lets just say that the main and more showcased storyline is as dead as...dead, (and Marlon Brando's performance as the ace pilot...let's just say its not up there with Stanley Kowalski and Terry Malloy, as he puts on an obnoxious Southern drawl and never really connects with the character well), so I hold great appreciation for the paring of Miyoshi Umeki and Red Buttons who completley save the film.

Umeki's role as Red Buttons' wife Katsumi is simply intended to just be a device in the story, or rather a spot to be filled in the narrative. The movie doesn't look upon the character too highly at all, and as a result the screenplay hardly writes a role for the actor to play. Katsumi is introduced as Joe Kelly's War Bride, and although the air force forbids it, the two sweethearts get married when Joe gets stationed back in Japan. Now, Umeki is a Supporting Actress winner that gets put down alot more than she is praised and supported for her win/performance, and due to the limitations of the role I can understand. But what Miyoshi does with the role is she subtly elevates it to something beyond the scripted cut-out Katsumi was intended to be. Umeki is by turns sweet and affecting in the role -- and although he may be hard to see, her performance and her chemistry with Buttons is pretty much emotionally essential to the overall film. While Brando and the other "leads" are projecting almost nothing, it is Umeki and Buttons who are the two completely humane characters who actually act like humans with feeling and emotion. The two are the heart and soul of the film, and their quiet and loving affection for each other is radiantly palpable. On her own though, Umeki beautifully conveys shades of happiness, childlike glee, and all with a glowing heart. Most of the time (unfortunately) she doesn't speak much, so her expressive, angelic face perfectly projects nuanced feelings lingering below - will everything be alright? Is this too good to be true? Basically, Miyoshi infuses the role with a subtle emotional awareness but strong emotional clarity, and is completely authentic and just totally true. Her two big scenes really pack a haunting wallop; the first is when Joe finds out she was planning on getting her eyes operated on so she can look American, and she breaks down in tears and Umeki brilliantly conveys Katsumi's fears of what is happening with she and Joe; that she needs to put on a fake identity just to stay with Joe and to be accepted. Her line reading of "I want him to be proud of me..." is especially heartbreaking. Her second big scene comes when they are all watching the tragic puppet show and what they see is to become reality. Katsumi explains that the two lovers are dying in each others arms, but they will be together for eternity ("They will live in another world, on a beautiful lake…floating together always...like water lilies...") - here, Umeki reads the line in an almost poetic nature with tears in her eyes and her face projecting a haunting mix of saddness and joy.

Things get worse for the couple when the Air Force fights harder against them and eventually locks them out of their own home. Knowing that there is no way for them to live together in peace on this world, the two make an eternal and tragic choice -- they will both die together in a suicide pact, but will live on together in God's kingdom.

The last shot we see of Joe and Katsumi alive is so heartwrenching to me, as they walk down that dark alley together:

Then to see them lying dead together in bed is just devastating:

I'll fess up and say that I can be swayed by sentiment, and Joe and Katsumi's fate is set up in a manner as such, yet what makes these end scenes so powerful is the already strong foundation Umeki (and Buttons) had already laid down in a clear, unsentimental way. If they played their parts in a different register these scenes would not have worked at all. These were two people who were simply in love with each other and wanted to never let go of it, and the way they are vibrantly portrayed honestly reflect that.

From very nearly nothing, Miyoshi Umeki crafts a sweet, tragic, and haunting performance that's both remarkable for its authenticity as well as its emotional clarity/resonance on everlasting love and the truths that it bears...

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SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!

Summer has begun, baby!

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Performance Profile: Geena Davis in "The Accidental Tourist" (1988)

"Don't you ever get the sudden urge to do that?"

Davis' Oscar winning role as a kooky dog trainer is possibly one of the most least liked winners in history. However, people find their own reasons about why they believe so. In fact, her win was something of a major upset, considering that she wasn't even nominated for the Golden Globe or any big awards, and then goes on to win the Oscar. It's usually a pleasant surprise when the dark horse crosses the finish line first, but in Geena's case, there's a bit more to it.

Let me just say this first; The Accidental Tourist is a dull, tiring bore that could easily help any insomniac with their problem. The pacing is exhausting, the direction is flat (no wonder Kasden didn't get a nom), and the script is as bland as rotten oatmeal. And William Hurt? Oh my. Like a hole being drilled through my ear and into my brain (he never develops this already boring character and his "acting" is excruciating at the worst levels). But luckily this mess has a silver lining in the form of Geena Davis who plays Muriel Pritchett, a quirky dog trainer who slowly begins a relationship with Hurt's Meacon. Basically she's used in the narrative to brighten up and redeem Meacon's life which is falling apart. She's a rainbow of optimism who wants to shower her goodness onto this grieving man whom she becomes attached to. After a rocking and awkward start, the two delve into a romantic relationship, and its through Davis' Muriel that he sees that life is truly worth living and living well.

Davis bursts on the screen with verve and energy which almost immediately jump starts the dour atmosphere of the film -- in other words, she gives it a burst of life. She ably emanates the charm, the sweetness, and the warmth of this unusual woman and does so in a surprisingly unsentimental manner. Davis' two big accomplishments in the role derive from her understanding of the character; although Muriel is a person who could easily be a self-involved or cold creation (and her random Juno-ish non-sequitar dialogue adds to that), Davis never lets the character become caught up in herself -- instead, she uses this "random" aspect of Muriel to express her concern and warmth towards Meacon. She's basically being herself, but never involved with herself in a conceited way. The second accomplishment is never letting that huge "quirkiness" personality overflow her characterization. Muriel may be such, but Davis grounds the character in the early scenes and keeps a firm hold on Muriel's disposition.

But upon review, I had noticed that Davis' overall performance is not as carefully executed as I had originally believed. What came up after another go around is that Davis never really shades the character with any other dimensions or layers of understanding. Sure, she has different reasons for doing different things, but she never really explores or digs deeper for any kind of darker depth within Muriel, this in turn, keeps Muriel from becoming a truly humane character. She focuses way too much on her bright, sunny side and rarely shows us more. Also, as the film's goes on, Davis's characterization slips up, becoming contrived and uneven; she loses the quirk, the wit/charm she had in the beginning and her big "character" moments just feel out of place. It's during this time when she never provides reasoning for her attraction to Meacon and why she follows him to Paris, and such. She comes off as, frankly, a creepy caricature who is not the person we saw first at the dog kennel. I understand of course, that a character usually changes and grows, but Davis never fleshes everything out to see how/why she is different.

Davis' work is certainly a respectable and memorable achievement in the history of Supporting Actressness, yet the actress never quite fufill's the movie's requirement of something more complete and human.

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Silly Marlon!

You and your wacky antics!

--

(Click pic to see Marlon's rare screentest)

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Toy Story 3: Something Wonderful

I just saw Toy Story 3 a couple of hours ago, and let me tell you -- it's a powerful experience. I've been waiting eleven years for the next chapter in this astonishing series, yet while watching the film it hardly felt like over a decade because of close I felt with these characters. It's important to note that I grew up with the first two films; I owned the videos, I played with the action figures, and the original holds a special place because it was the first film I ever saw in theaters. For a cinephile, that is a landmark. The movie deals with the heavy issues of mortality, loss, truth, courage, and love - all of these themes are weaved in a beautiful way with care. It's forthright clarity of genuine emotional honesty is the film's biggest achievement. That final scene ends on a rich, resonant note, but it wasn't until about an hour later that I began to cry. The feelings sunk in then it all came out. To grow up with these toys and their shining humanity, and then see the story come to an end - an end which deals with moving on and becoming complete - is something that is truly emotionally engaging. Maybe the adventures of these toys reflect a humans life cycle so precisley is the reason we connect to them so well. In fact, these are humans trapped in a toys body. 

But, no matter what, the memories, the laughs, and the life will forever continue to endure.

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Film Quotables

"My biological clock is tickin' like THIS!" -

Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny

Now, who doesn't love Mona Lisa??

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Live TV Slip Up!

Dirty Girl!

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