Twenty-Four Eyes (1954, Japan)
In 1954, Japanese audiences saw the release of some incredible films including Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff, Ishiro Honda's Gojira (Godzilla to English speakers), and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Another Japanese film from 1954 is not as widely known in the West and yet swept Japanâs major film awards; that film is Keisuke Kinoshita's Twenty-Four Eyes, based on an anti-war novel of the same name by Sakae Tsuboi. Kinoshitaâs film is also a bit of a family affair - composer Chuji Kinoshita is his brother and cinematographer Hiroshi Kusuda is Kinoshitaâs brother-in-law. It has been difficult for non-Asian audiences to see these Japanese post-War films commenting - with a heavy hand or with nuance - on Japanâs role in World War II and the consequences its warmongering brought upon its soldiers, the women who remained and worked in conjunction with the war effort, and the children who grew up in that militaristic era. Twenty-Four Eyes takes place over the course of eighteen years (1928-1946) as it shows schoolteacher Hisako Oishi (played by Hideko Takamine in a compassionate, though devastating performance) and her relationships with the twelve students (pictured above) in her first and only class of first graders. Twelve students⊠hence, Twenty-Four Eyes.
The film is set on Shodoshima, which is situated in the Inland Sea which separates Honshu and Shikoku (two major Japanese islands). The residents of Shodoshima are conservative in their attitudes towards modernization, an understandable position in that many of them are farmers, fishers, or craftspeople who canât afford industrial-age luxuries. When many of the childrenâs parents first see the new first grade teacher wearing a Western-style dress while riding a bicycle, they display concerns over her attitudes. They neednât worry as on the first day of school Ms. Oishi is lovable, encouraging, and understanding towards her first graders. So many of her children work long hours on the farm or out at sea when they return home, so Ms. Oishi not only provides their education but some fun as well. Music and singing together as a class - no, a family - is an integral part of her class. The singing lends each child, regardless of what they do outside of school, a much-needed sense of joy and belonging. Ms. Oishi will rupture her achilles tendon in the middle of the school year, rendering her unable to commute to the school and teach the class. Though an older teacher (Chishu Ryu, whose character means well but might be out of his depth⊠letâs just say itâs somewhat hilarious to see Ryu attempt to have a class of first graders sing and stay happy) soon fills in, Ms. Oishi promises she will be at the main school once they all reach sixth grade.Â
That promise is kept. All twelve children find themselves in Ms. Oishiâs sixth grade class. But five years - it is now 1933 - can be an eternity. The Great Depression hits Japan and elders pass away. The Manchurian Incident has precipitated a militarization of the state curriculum and the teachers are expected to conform. Ms. Oishi evenât canât escape criticism when she tells her boys she prefers farmers and storekeepers over soldiers. Some of the girls can no longer attend school following the death of a family member and are expected to tend the house or, in one heartbreaking instance, be whisked off from the island to become a waitress despite their strong desires to continue to school.
The girls, who are on the precipice of womanhood, have it especially tough. Their families, many of whom assume outdated attitudes about a womanâs place in the home and in society, are acting out of self-preservation and economic necessity. Donât be so quick to judge the parents in absolute wrong-or-right terms as advanced age, illness, death, and economic difficulties are sometimes too overwhelming to not address for these families. It is easy to say âwhat a terribly sexist thing to do to your young girlâ from the comfort of your living room or a movie theater. Ms. Oishi understands the contradictions and the heartbreaking realities that Depression and war has wrought and passes not judgment nor sweeping recommendations for the futures of her students - she only stipulates that she wants each of her pupils to lead healthy, happy lives no matter what their futures hold. That is a very difficult stance to maintain as World War II in the Asia-Pacific theater begins to escalate. The optimism for life and for living that Ms. Oishi instills into her students is being drowned out by the war drums, calling young boys and girls to sacrifice for the purpose of a sacred duty.
The film will then skip another eight years to mid-1941 as the village sees off the young boys going off to war - all five boys must leave as traditional WWII-era patriotic songs come to prominence. War has raged in Asia for a decade now (no, it didnât begin on December 7, 1941). There is something about Ms. Oishiâs tear-stained face that tells us that she knows many of her boys will be killed in battle. Musicâs evolving role in Twenty-Four Eyes traces a circuitous route. Before a brief highlighting of the key songs sung in the film, it should be noted that Japan incorporated many Western cultural influences into its own culture, especially English-language folk songs. The opening credits establish that âAnnie Laurieâ is Ms. Oishiâs theme and is often played during scenes establishing her character or when she is engaging in a heartfelt conversation with one of her students. âThe Last Rose of Summerâ and âAuld Lang Syneâ also make appearances and are predominantly played in farewell scenes not related to Japanâs military campaigns. For wartime, âHome Sweet Homeâ - this might raise eyebrows for those who have seen The Burmese Harp and Grave of the Fireflies - is the melody of choice as it was a popular sentimental tune for Japanese soldiers to sing in their darkest hours. The song selections might strike some as bizarre, but they were all popular tunes in Japanese culture. Though sometimes used to excess, these folk songs - along with the many traditional Japanese songs I have not commented on such as graduation song âAogeba Toutoshiâ - strike a chord of sentimentality appropriate for this film.
The tone of the film, well established by the filmâs musical selections, is not one of remorse or apology. Instead, it is one of deep sorrow: for Japanese speakers, I would best describe this as a film that utilizes mono no aware to tremendous effect. The silences in between exchanges of dialogue and critical meetings with her students allow for reflections for the passage of time, the destruction of promising futures because of tragic turns of fate, and the terrible fragility of life. Gentle, slow tracking shots and long takes contribute to that common sadness. It is a film grasping to find a meditative solemnitude in which to present its stories. But the individual tragedies that befall so many of the students threaten to topple the inner peace Ms. Oishi, her family, and her students are struggling to find in an era where talk of peace is equated with cowardice.Â
David Blakeslee, who runs a blog entitled âCriterion Reflectionsâ frames this perspective of Twenty-Four Eyesâ place in Japanese cinematic history:
Twenty-Four Eyes opened the door for even more direct engagement with the events and aftermath of the war⊠In the next few years, films like The Burmese Harp, Fires on the Plain and The Human Condition would raise the graphic intensity in showing what that generation of young men experienced. Iâm not sure those films would have been made, or would have found a receptive audience, if Twenty-Four Eyes hadnât cleared a path for them in the cultural consciousness.
What unites this film with those Blakeslee writes of (Iâve not seen The Human Condition trilogy nor Fires on the Plain) is the preference of life to death. The enthusiasm that life brings is infectious and that is what Ms. Oishi encouraged her children to take with them every afternoon or evening they went home from school. This applies not just for the young boys aspiring to be soldiers, but for the young girls who want to make their parents and themselves proud, to advance their education as far as they can possibly take them given their circumstances. Twenty-Four Eyes has retained some of its popularity in Japan due to its nostalgic value, if not for its anti-imperialist politics.Â
And, somehow, I have not written a single sentence about Hideko Takamineâs incredible performance. Takamine, who was also schoolteacher and parent before World War II, had lived the role she is playing in the film. She is Ms. Oishi. She might be acting, but something tells me that if you had asked Hideko Takamine, she would say she wasnât acting for any single moment during Twenty-Four Eyes. With this experience, she delivers a performance that - though sometimes overstepping the lines of effectiveness - comforts, delights, and invites.Â
By filmâs end as Ms. Oishi resumes teaching first grade for the first time in eighteen years, we feel that she is making amends as she reads the roll call. Contrary to what she may believe, there are no amends necessary. Though one generation has said their farewells to childhood, the spirit and zeal for life that she instilled in them some eighteen years ago remains - for the dead and the living. For her first first grade class in eighteen years, Ms. Oishi has an opportunity to yet again give that same gift to a different set of students. Amidst the lapping waves on the beach and the blossoming cherry trees of the passing seasons, Ms. Oishiâs gift was as valuable in 1928 as it would be in 1946. It is a gift that penetrates souls and allows for solace when such a state seems unreachable.
^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down.
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