Ken Ogata,
Masayuki Shionoya,
Hiroshi Mikami,
Yasosuke Bando,
Junya Fukuda
... see more 
In Paul Schrader's unusual biopic, Ken Ogata stars as Yukio Mishima, perhaps the most celebrated Japanese novelist of the last five decades. The film begins with Mishima's youth, then moves forward in... read more
DVD Release Date: August 7, 2001
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Stats: 258 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (258)
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July 17, 2011Mishima's life, and all it's contradictions, is perfectly captured by Schrader in a biopic done right. The film embodies all the passions and obsessions of it's subject, with Ogata's performance and a great score this one stands apart from the rest of theconventional, and empty,... read more
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August 10, 2009a very ambitious biopic on the life of celebrated writer yukio mishima. the film weaves episodes from 3 of his works with events from his life in stylized segments. mishima subscribed to the ancient bushido code and sought to reconcile his art and life in a search for 'purity' ... read more
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December 26, 2011Although at times theatrical and experimental with the camera, yet the composition of the frames are always clear and concise. Whether the dialogue was taken from Mishima's books, written by the Schrader brothers, or a mix of both- it was great. There was very little, if at all a... read more
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November 25, 2011Paul Schrader's Mishima is a landmark film, the story of a successful writer who built a private army, created tensions with left wing society, held a garrison hostage, and was able to commit suicide on Nov of 1970. Schrader recreates these events based upon Mishima's famous nove... read more
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August 15, 2009Here?s a rarity, a Japanese language film made on a relatively large budget by a high profile American director, and in the middle of the eighties long before people like Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson were allowed to do things like that. I suppose it had to be an non Japanese per... read more
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March 7, 2009This is an intriguing character study on a fascinating Japanese writer who, at the height of his popularity, tries to take over the Japanese government in the late seventies. Flashbacks to some of his writings are cleverly integrated into his own evolution as a character. When I ... read more
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May 27, 2007Beautiful movie that is perhaps as perfect as a biography can be. Leave it to Schrader, who does fictional character studies so well, to make the perfect non fiction one.
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March 11, 2012A brilliant film that at times seems to club you over its head and it isn't until later that you realize you will never completely be free from its lush imagery and profoundly complex characterization of great Japanese writer/filmmmaker/political activist Mishima.
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March 13, 2010A vision of Japanese culture and such, seppuku up the yin yang, if you like (or not, because it's slightly racist), boobs, I see why this is popular. Actually though, it's got quite a style, with the set design.
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November 20, 2009"Poetry should be written in a splash of blood." Anyone who enjoys a challenging, highly stylized movie about the intersection of art and life should see this. It's a superbly directed film from Paul Schrader about infamous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, who committed seppuku in ... read more
Critic Reviews
December 16, 2008
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The most unconventional biopic I've ever seen, and one of the best. Full Review
July 10, 2009
Derek Malcolm, This is London
Paul Schrader's 1985 biopic necessarily guts his controversial life - but the visual style is superb. Full Review
July 10, 2009
Tom Huddlestone, Time Out
Graced with a throbbing orchestral score from Philip Glass and John Bailey's luminous photography, this is appropriately monumental filmmaking. Full Review
July 10, 2009
Richard Luck, Film4
From Philip Glass's glorious score to John Bailey's rich cinematography, Schrader's movie is never less than ravishing. Full Review
July 10, 2009
Kevin Maher, Times [UK]
The gorgeous, artsy 1985 biopic Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is the best movie that Paul Schrader has yet directed. Full Review
July 10, 2009
David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
Philip Glass's score still takes the breath away. Full Review
July 10, 2009
Rob Daniel, Sky Movies
Those unfamiliar with Mishima's work may find the expressionistic novel sequences overly rich, but Schrader's film is a visually arresting, imaginative and intelligent overview of a difficult subject. Full Review
July 10, 2009
Anthony Quinn, Independent
The cerebral cool of Schrader's perspective sacrifices emotional connection to its subject. Full Review
December 10, 2008
David Fear, Time Out New York
It's fetishistic, lyrical, narcissistic and, at key moments, borderline berserk. In other words, the movie captures its subject to a tee. Full Review
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