Gohatto (1999)

aka Taboo
aka Tabou
dir: Oshima Nagisa

Symbolically summed up best at the end: "Sozaburo(Matsuda Ryuhei) was too beautiful. Men took advantage of him, He was possessed by evil." Then in one fell swoop the speaker, Captain Hijikata (Kitano "Bito" Takeshi), slices off the top of a young sakura tree in full bloom.

Samurai shudo was not unknown behavior in this time period. Rarely though does it ever does it become subject, incidental or otherwise, in this type of historical pic, with this one's genre bent towards mystery and intrigue. The gayness of the film shouldn't be seen as the sole focus though. 'Gohatto' translates into the "against the law" or "against the laws," and shudo isn't the thing out of bounds here. Perhaps it's the underlying, unspoken jealousies threatening to undo the male bonds that is in implied contention in the title.

Most conspicuous to the film is what's missing. The gay act itself, though not treated any less artistically, is displayed with a complete departure from the graphic form one may come to expect from Oshima. What we are left with are spectacularly built up moments, carefully constructed with Oshima's deft pacing; though simulations of gay sex are shown, they are secondary concerns compared to, say, when Sozaburo reaches for chaperone Heibei's (Matoba Koji) hand --truly one of those breathtaking instances encapsulating so much of the film's concerns: the hidden depths of male emotions and bonding.

It can't be understated the masculine, stoic beauty Asano Tadanobu represents in the character of Tashiro, early courter of Sozaburo in the wake of his freshly joining the close-knit social quarters of the all-male militia troops. Composer Sakamoto Ryuichi lends heavily to the tense tone.