A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness

Seijun Suzuki's 1977 Japanese film follows a young woman turned into a golf star by a marketing executive. Reiko is only learning the game, but the campaign makes her the country's best known athlete. The subject is what that fame brings. Reiko is watched constantly and every move of hers is interpreted; a woman in her neighbourhood becomes fixated on her, and the narrative shows that admiration and hostility come from the same place. Suzuki was making a film after a long gap, having found no work for years after leaving his studio. The colours are intense, the composition overblown and the narrative moves away from realism. The close is harsh. Who it's for: those who like Suzuki's cinema and formalist Japanese films. Who it's not for: viewers expecting restraint; the film goes to extremes at the end and the violence is explicit.