Jidaigeki filmography is a style of filmmaking which directly relates to Japanese history - primarily the Heian period (794 to 1185), Edo period (1603 to 1868), or Meiji era (1868-1910). Regardless of era, jidaigeki films often contain highly dramatic acting performances, visually distinct characters (usually through use of makeup, but sometimes via other physical attributes), and highly stylized depictions of violence. When discussing jidaigeki artwork with western audiences, one may point to the Ni-Oh video game series or to From Software’s hit Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as examples. Portrait of Hell (1969), taking place in the Heian period and employing several dramatic devices typical of the jidaigeki art direction, is firmly cemented within the genre. If you’d like to explore more films within the genre, I’d suggest Harakiri (1962) or Kwaidan (1965) - both by talented director Masaki Kobayashi. Along with Portrait of Hell, the films Harakiri and Kwaidan really do paint a picture of jidaigeki horror filmography.
With this in mind, Portrait of Hell scrupulously incorporates the dramatic convention of jidaigeki film within sociopolitical, ethical, and traditionalist contexts. The film begins with a curse from a destitute beggar who recently met his wrongful end, partially due to negligence of Japanese Lord Horikawa (played by genre master Kinnosuke Nakamura). After the curse leaves the lips of the beggar, a Korean artist named Yoshihide (Tatsuya Nakadai) is shown wrestling his daughter Yoshika (Yoko Nait) away from a potential lover. Once Yoshihide successfully departs with Yoshika, she is quickly kidnapped by Lord Horikawa. Yoshihide quickly visits his lord and requests his daughter be given back. Lord Horikawa declines, but acknowledges Yoshihide as an expert painter and requests Yoshihide to paint a mural of Buddha on the walls of his new temple. Yoshihide does not indulge his lord's request, saying that he can only paint what he can visually see, and because the lands ruled by Lord Horikawa only show him suffering and destitution, he cannot paint the mural as requested. Instead, Yoshihide wishes to paint a mural of Hell in exchange for the safe return of his daughter Yoshika. After some deliberation, Lord Horikawa agrees that Yoshihide may paint his mural - if it is good enough, his daughter will be returned.
As the film moves forward, Yoshihide approaches Lord Horikawa once more. Yoshihide requests to see Lord Horikawa inside of a burning carriage, so that the may include it within his mural of Hell. Lord Horikawa only partially obliges - he sets fire to a carriage containing Yoshika rather than himself. Yoshika burns to her death. As he has now seen someone burn to death inside a carriage, Yoshihide finishes his mural and then kills himself. Lord Horikawa views the painting and is consumed in flames within his own personalized Hell through the power of Yoshihide’s painting. Condemned to burn for eternity, Lord Horikawa faces the consequences of his curse and his actions toward his people.
Portrait of Hell is a fairly simple story with a supernatural twist - a cursed lord faces the consequences of his own actions and experiences magnified suffering which he inflicted upon others. Perhaps the story of the film is simple, but the excellent worldbuilding created by director Shiro Toyoda is not. The Heian period of Japanese history is well-known for its emphasis on physical beauty - often being physically attractive was akin to being regarded as a “good person” overall. This is reflected in both Lord Horikawa and Yoshika. Lord Horikawa’s mustache and thin goatee are idealized male appearance in the Heian period, and Yoshika’s lengthy black hair was seen as a sign of fertility, beauty, and high distinction. These fashion choices lend themselves well to both historical accuracy and the jidaigeki style. These physical attributes are simultaneously jidaigeki cinematic convention and true to time period, accomplished in a way that isn’t horribly distracting to viewers of modern cinema.
In addition to the visual appearances of the actors within the film, Portrait of Hell also accurately depicts Heian economics as a point of critical failure which left most in poverty (except very few wealthy aristocrats - the Ryomin). As the use of money completely faded, rice evolved to become the main currency and instrument of trade. This economic collapse is depicted within the film by Yoshihide’s portrayal of Hell, and how he’s able to complete his painting even without personally viewing Hell itself. The world created by Lord Horikawa is Hell enough - violence and suffering abound for people in the lower class. This is another fairly accurate depiction - the Heian period is also fairly known for inadequate policing. Lack of police combined with complete economic downturn forced many citizens to pursue banditry (as shown in this film) as a means to survive. The Heian period Portrait of Hell depicts is instrumental to its designation as a jidaigeki film, and the direction of Shiro Toyoda accomplishes this feat with extreme tact. This is no surprise, as Toyoda had directed over 50 films prior to this one.
While it has been fun catching myself up with jidaigeki filmography and Japanese history, it was perhaps the primary draw to creating this write-up. Portrait of Hell suffers from one of the most frustrating pitfalls a feature-length film can succumb to: it’s sometimes boring. The film itself is 1 hour and 35 minutes long, but the source material it draws upon is merely a short story told in newspaper serializations format (“Hell Screen” by author Ryunosuke Akutagawa). The English translation I uncovered was approximately 68 pages in length, and a fair length of it discussed things that could be presented in the film adaptation through visualizations without adding to the runtime. The last third of the film was easily the most exciting portion, but the preamble to the exciting conclusion was wordy and somewhat uninspired. Overall, he middle third was far too long and appeared to simply pad runtime. Portrait of Hell is a good film, but it isn’t a great film. The Portrait of Hell experience, however, is an excellent exploration of jidaigeki film. It is indeed worth your time.
★★★☆☆
Maximilian Ripley