Golden Demon (movie)

Golden Demon 

   The Golden Demon is a 1954 movie directed by Koji Shima. The original novel was written by Ozaki Koyo.

Image from when Kanichi confronts Miya

Summary:

This movie opens with a scene showing a social gathering, and some of the main characters are introduced. Kanichi and Miya are in love and want to be together, while Tomiyama is a man who is interested in making Miya his wife. However, Miya only wants to be with Kanichi, and as the days pass, she and Kanichi are visibly close to each other, while Miya’s parents do not entirely approve. They tell Miya that she would be better off marrying a wealthy person like Tomiyama, and that doing so would help Kanichi financially as well. Although Miya is not happy with the idea, her parents claim that giving up Kanichi for Tomiyama would ultimately bring everyone happiness, and Miya feels pressured by that thought.

Later, Miya is obliged to go see Tomiyama after receiving a gift from him. Kanichi gets word of this and, with the help of some of his friends, is able to pay for transportation to immediately go see Miya. They speak to each other on the beach that night, and Kanichi brings up her potential marriage to Tomiyama. When Miya doesn’t fully deny it and considers hypothetically the outcomes of a marriage to Tomiyama, Kanichi is shocked and feels betrayed. He starts arguing with her, and then becomes very distraught as he sees that Miya is wearing Tomiyama’s ring, and even kicks her away as she tries to cling to him. He says to forever remember the sadness he felt on this night, and then Miya, overcome by sadness, is left alone on the beach.

Four years later, Kanichi and Miya have completely drifted apart. Kanichi has begun working with Akagashi, a woman known for being a cruel loan shark. Kanichi’s personality has radically changed, as he is willing to speak harshly and unkindly to the debtors, even as their lives are ruined from their involvement with Akagashi.

Meanwhile, Tomiyama is now Miya’s husband, but any affection he may have once shown to her is gone. Instead, he treats her as lower than everybody else, and he verbally abuses her at every opportunity. Because of this, Miya has been living in misery, but she feels that she inflicted a similar kind of pain upon Kanichi when she married Tomiyama. Miya’s mother understands Miya’s suffering, and she fully regrets her decision to convince Miya to marry Tomiyama, as she believes that Kanichi would have given Miya a better life than Tomiyama.

Kanichi, however, wants nothing to do with Miya, as he still feels anger about what happened in the past. He continues working with Akagashi, but gets into a fight with debtors when they remind him of their past friendship with him. He is harsh toward them, but afterward, he decides to help, and asks Akagashi if he can settle his friend’s debt. Akagashi is reluctant to do so, as she seems to enjoy the process of torturing her clients. As Kanichi tries to convince her, she attempts to seduce him, taking advantage of his desire to pay for the debt. He hesitantly goes along with her for a little while, but eventually declares that he cannot be with her because he no longer wants romance after his experience with Miya. He ensures that the payment is completed in spite of Akagashi’s manipulative tactics.

Miya, who has not seen Kanichi since her marriage to Tomiyama, runs into Kanichi’s friend and desperately tries to convince him to take her to Kanichi. They spend time talking together, and Miya expresses the guilt she feels for not being with Kanichi, and admits that she spends a large amount of time just thinking about him, as she knows that there is no way she would be able to be happy with Tomiyama. Although Kanichi’s friend does listen to what she says, he refuses Miya’s request, explaining that he is no longer close to Kanichi, and Kanichi would not want to see Miya anyway.

Miya returns to her room, and then shortly afterward, Tomiyama returns. He notes that Miya has been recovering from a sickness, and berates her for being ill. Miya apologizes, but Tomiyama continues speaking unkindly. He sees Miya’s diary and takes it from her despite her protests. He goes through the pages, pointing out how much time Miya spent thinking about Kanichi, and he is dissatisfied with this. He continues to speak sharply to Miya, alleging that Miya is the one who ruined their relationship because of her emotionless attitude around him, and he uses this as an excuse to justify his unending cruel behavior. After Tomiyama heads out for the day, Miya realizes that one of the household assistants owes a debt to Kanichi, and she decides to use this information to try to find Kanichi.

Meanwhile, Kanichi is still being unkind to his clients, and he gets into a violent physical fight with one group. Miya stumbles upon this scene and watches from a distance; once the fight breaks up, Kanichi’s friend finally brings her to seem him. Kanichi is infuriated when Miya appears, and although Miya begs Kanichi to understand her, he refuses to listen. Their meeting is interrupted when Akagashi enters, and Miya hastily leaves upon seeing her.
            Eventually, Kanichi and Akagashi are disturbed when they hear a noise outside. Kanichi goes to investigate and finds out that one of their clients, whose son had been imprisoned as a result of Akagashi’s debt traps, has come with a weapon to try to force them to return her son. Kanichi tries to stop her, and accidentally hurts her in the process, which comes as a shock to him. He goes inside, but shortly afterward they find that the house has been set on fire.

The fire catches the attention of the whole neighborhood, including Tomiyama’s household. Although there is panic on the streets, Tomiyama is only amused, and wants to watch the disaster unfold. Miya wants to go help, but he refuses to let her.

Kanichi desperately tries to salvage the papers and money that are burning in the fire, even as others get to safety. In the end, when the fire has finally been fully extinguished, he remains in the ruins of the house. Miya, who has managed to get away from Tomiyama, comes to him and once again tries to convince him that she does not want to be with Tomiyama. He rejects her once again, and she leaves, very upset.

In her misery, Miya walks into a river and begins to float through the water. Kanichi notices one of her belongings floating down the stream, and he begins to panic as he realizes that Miya’s life is in danger. He rushes to find her, and then pulls her out of the water, desperately hoping that she is okay. Finally, she manages to open her eyes, and the two of them watch the sunrise, finally close to each other again.

Analysis of Melodrama:

One interesting element present in the story is the motif of nature, which is emphasized by certain directorial choices throughout the film. The role of nature in the film appears to emphasize the concepts of freedom and choice, particularly in regard to Miya and Kanichi. 

The theme of nature becomes relevant shortly after Miya and Kanichi leave the party at the beginning of the story. As they walk, Miya comments on the glistening snow, comparing it to diamonds. Kanichi is uncomfortable with her choice of words, as he believes she might be wishing for Tomiyama and his diamond ring; however, Miya firmly denies his suspicions. Kanichi treats this situation much more seriously than one normally would, creating a feeling of melodrama as he fixates on Miya’s offhand comment. However, this melodramatic interaction is representative of Miya’s plight in the overall story. Miya was appreciating the snow in its natural state, whereas Tomiyama’s ring consists of natural materials that have been artificially crafted into jewelry. This is comparable to the two possible lives that Miya could have: she could be free to make her own choices and live with Kanichi, but she is pressured by others into marrying Tomiyama to conform to her societal role.

The motif of nature resurfaces when Kanichi and Miya fight on the beach. The setting and dialogue of this scene create an intense feeling of melodrama, which allows the audience to glimpse the emotions harbored by Kanichi and Miya. As Kanichi’s feeling of hurt grows, he notes the dimness of the moonlight, telling Miya to forever associate it with his pain. In this scene, the dimmed moonlight is an indicator of Kanichi and Miya’s disrupted freedom, as the happy future they hoped to have begins to seem impossible. In addition, the location of this scene is a beach’s shore, which is a boundary between the land and ocean. This parallels Miya’s feelings, as she the decision she is facing is an emotional boundary that she does not want to cross.

After Kanichi and Miya have separated, nature continues to be a recurring theme in their individual lives. When Kanichi speaks with the debtors, there is a cat nearby, watching the scene. In this case, the cat, who is naturally not bound by societal expectations, is representative of Kanichi’s true wishes, which have been shut out of his life yet linger at the back of his mind. Kanichi’s is unreasonably harsh to the debtors, creating melodramatic tension as he coldly rejects all of their pleas. This melodrama allows the scene to escalate to the point where a fight breaks out, the cat flees, symbolizing how Kanichi’s worsening personality is driving away his own potential for happiness.

A similar metaphor is present when Akagashi is speaking to one of her clients. As she mocks the debtor, who was once Kanichi’s friend, she keeps a cat on her lap the whole time she is speaking. Once again, this cat is a representation of freedom, but instead of being able to escape like in the previous scene, the cat is held firmly by Akagashi. This shows how Akagashi has not only her own freedom, but also a desire to live by keeping others under control, as she chooses to toy with them for her own amusement. This is a personality trait that would generally not be so obvious in everyday life, but Akagashi’s clearly manipulative personality is an example of the villainous archetype that often fuels conflict in melodramatic stories.

The motif of nature is also embedded in Miya’s life. When Miya finds Kanichi’s friend, they begin talking while Miya feeds birds that are grouped together on the ground. In some ways, these birds are in a situation analogous to Miya’s: although they have the potential to fly freely, they stay on the ground to receive food. Similarly, Miya longed to be free to choose a future with Kanichi, but chose her restricted life because of the potential rewards it once seemed to offer.

In a later scene, when Miya is in her room, it can be seen that one of the decorations is a small tree that happens to be home to several birds. Once again, the birds’ circumstances mirror Miya’s. The birds in the tree have been given the illusion of freedom and happiness, as they have their own tree to inhabit. However, the reality is that these birds are completely cut off from the sky and the rest of nature. Similarly, Miya was forced into her current situation because of how appealing it looked to everyone else, but when the situation was realized, it became clear that life was actually more difficult for everyone, particularly Miya.

The intensity of this symbolism continues to increase within this same scene. When Tomiyama enters the room, he reprimands Miya for having been sick. Tomiyama’s comments here are a clear display of melodrama, as it would be very strange to be scolded for illness in everyday life. However, Tomiyama’s extreme position here serves as an indicator of Miya’s complete severance from nature. Becoming sick is something so natural that it is generally not considered to be a condition one has any control over; yet, in spite of this, Tomiyama expects Miya to be immune to it. In this way, this rejection of nature clearly demonstrates Miya’s lack of freedom: Miya’s actions are not only forced by others, but she is expected to be obedient even in matters she has no control over.

When the story reaches its climax, the nature becomes further intertwined with the plot. After the fire at Kanichi’s house, Miya comes to Kanichi to try to mend their relationship. However, Kanichi continues to reject her, and maintains the same air of hostility that he had shown her previously. In this scene, a dog can be seen standing among the rubble, making no move to leave. This dog represents Kanichi’s refusal to reaccept his freedom, as Kanichi continues to be bound by bitterness even after his new life has been destroyed. Even though he has been given an opportunity to take the life he once wanted, he remains obsessed with the remnants of the life he had built to cope with his despair.

However, in spite of his frustration toward Miya, Kanichi acts immediately when he suspects that Miya is in danger. This change in his emotion is captured by the camera’s shot of an eagle flying overhead, performing a U-turn in the air. This highlights the immediacy with which Kanichi discarded his resentment; although he had built up negative emotions for years, his attitude instantly reversed when he sensed a threat toward Miya. In this way, the reversal in the eagle’s flight represents Kanichi’s renewed desire to achieve the goals he once wished for. This event has elements of melodrama to it, as Kanichi’s complete emotional shift seems almost jarring and unnatural, as he had he had been expressing rage toward Miya until just a few moments ago. The melodrama here indicates that Kanichi’s supposed anger was never completely real, and what may have been truly holding him back was the fear of emotionally opening up to Miya again. Realizing that Miya’s life was in danger created a much stronger feeling of fear, allowing him to overcome all other hesitation.

At the end of the film, as Miya awakens, a flock of birds is shown taking flight into the sky. This symbolism spotlights the attainment of Kanichi and Miya’s original desire, as they are now free from the societal and emotional bounds that had kept them apart. The metaphor is completed by the rising sun, which Miya and Kanichi watch together. This sunrise can be contrasted with the melodrama of the scene in which Miya and Kanichi fought under dim moonlight. At that time, the dimmed moonlight had been representative of the circumstances that had forced misery upon Miya and Kanichi, and the feeling of melodrama was created by the intense feelings of sorrow; on the other hand, the bright sunrise at the finale brings closure to the story, as they can finally pursue the free life that they had wanted from the beginning, creating a sense of melodrama as this sudden happy scene ends the period of suffering the two had experienced.

Overall, the film’s theme of nature seemed to underscore the characters’ changes in freedom throughout the story, as various conflicts and occurrences alter the choices that they have to make. This helps develop the idea that, although people want to have their own freedom, it is in human nature to become entangled and restricted by societal pressure.

Ultimately, the film does bring a proper resolution to the struggles faced by Miya and Kanichi, but there are still open questions that the film does not entirely answer. For example, the film portrays Miya as desperately yearning for Kanichi, but the reason for this is not entirely clear. Although Miya and Kanichi clearly get along at the beginning of the story, Kanichi’s kicks toward her during the beach scene cast some doubt on the reliability of his behavior, and the fact that he never properly listens to what Miya is trying to tell him is also indicative of communication problems in their relationship. Although Tomiyama is clearly far crueler toward Miya than Kanichi is, Kanichi’s overall attitude toward Miya raises the question as to whether they would be able to live peacefully together.

In addition, the film does not answer the question of how Kanichi and Miya will keep living after Kanichi saves her. Although Kanichi’s negative feelings toward Miya have likely disappeared, their relationship still has still gained many layers of complexity because of their conflicts up to this point, and Tomiyama had made it clear earlier that he did not want Miya to be free. In contrast, Miya had told Kanichi that she had left Tomiyama’s household, implying that she is ready to live without Tomiyama. In this way, the film’s ending could be interpreted as either a brief moment of happiness, or as the full revival of the relationship that was present at the beginning of the story.