Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 2-May-04
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Sayonara (1957)

With patient and well-meaning didacticism, "Sayonara" aims to show 1950s America the human face of its former Japanese enemy and spread the word that even the most red-blooded and dutiful Yank should maintain an open mind. Adapted from a novel by James Michener, the film contains a few worthwhile messages, cultural insights, and engaging characters, but because of a void at its center it fails to fulfill the basic goal of providing a couple hours of solid entertainment.

The story unfolds through the experiences of Major Lloyd Gruver (Marlon Brando), an up-and-coming fighter pilot who is transferred from the front lines in Korea to a desk job in Japan. The unofficial motive for the transfer is Gruver's fiancée Eileen (Patricia Owens), who has come to Japan with her father, the general, in the hopes of getting her longtime beau to the altar. Early on, both Eileen and Gruver's friend Joe (Red Buttons) express frustration with his detachment and adherence to propriety, the fact that he seems incapable of thinking for himself or indulging in any strong personal feelings. However, all of their lives are turned upside down when Gruver begins to expand his consciousness, which he unknowingly accomplishes by frequenting the home Joe shares with his Japanese wife (Miyoshi Umeki) and by falling for a popular local entertainer named Hana-ogi (Miiko Taka).

"Sayonara" clearly intends to exorcise the audience of its own narrow-mindedness by allowing it to accompany Gruver on his journey,* so the success of the film depends a lot upon Brando's performance. Unfortunately, this is one instance where the great actor doesn't rise to the challenge, i.e., to endow an apparently anemic and unimaginative person with an underlying wellspring of spirit. With his bored southern drawl and air of button-down hedonism, Gruver is simply dull, which makes it difficult to root for his finding love or enlightenment. Despite his obvious physical attractions, I found it hard to believe that someone so lacking in passion could inspire it in women as fascinating and diverse as Eileen and Hana-ogi. And since the ultimate triumph of the story belongs not to true love but to individual freedom, the lackluster nature of the central character diminishes its effect.

Yet Brando aside, there are a few pleasures that make the exotic shores of "Sayonara" worth the trip. Foremost are Buttons and Umeki, who both won Best Supporting Oscars that may well have represented the Academy's acknowledgment of Cutest Couple on Film (as well as an unforgettable exit). Although the many scenes of Japanese performance art go on too long, they provide a good excuse for some excellent costumes, and, on a broader level, the movie makes a good case for the themes of following your heart and recognizing that right and wrong are sometimes in the eye of the beholder.

"Sayonara" is an ambitious film that tries to transport the viewer not only to a faraway place of romance and drama, but to another way of thinking about the world. While in some respects it deserves praise, the weakness of the star disqualifies it from the status of a classic.

*One has to wonder, however, whether it was narrow-mindedness or a lack of Asians in Hollywood that resulted in the casting of Ricardo Montalban as a kabuki dancer with an interest in Eileen.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.