A Psychedelic Feminist Tragedy Animé Feature
“Belladonna of Sadness” is a film directed by EIichi Yamamoto, and produced by Mushi Production. It is one of the most controversial and audacious features throughout Japonese animation history and perhaps even the world. Released in 1973, this marked the third and final film in the Animerama trilogy, preceding A Thousand and One Nights and Cleopatra. The series of adult animations was conceptualised by Osamu Tezuka, albeit with little input on the last film. Yhe difference between Belladonna of Sadness and comparable animations is that this piece uniquely combines tragedy, eroticism, and surrealist art that captures the essence of feminine suffering, transcendence, and rebellion.
Storyline
Jeanne, a young peasant girl recently married to her first love, Jean, is put in the center of a stylised medieval era France. Their joy turns bittersweet as a local feudal lord tax his peasants with a unnecessary brute as a marriage tax. Inadequately fulfilling the barbaric and dehumanising requirements causes Jean embarrassment, while Jeanne has to endure a violent attack by the noble and his court. This is what marks the beginning of Jeanne’s expulsion from society, and is the catalyst that sets off her mystical empowerment.
With her gaining power, came a direct challenge to the overly oppressive power systems set in place. Ultimately, she is captured, tried for witchcraft, and later sentenced to death. Jeanne’s influence, however, goes beyond her corporeal existence. Using her last breath, she becomes a martyr of defiance, her spirit continues to endure through the revolutionary embers that signal the birth of the French Revolution.
Visual Style and Animation
The use of artistic techniques in Belladonna of Sadness is unlike any in other films. Instead of full-figure animation, the film heavily leans on still images, detailed watercolors, and panning over static images. All the motion in the film is slight but deliberate, creating the effect of an animated illustration or manuscript. Each action feels intentional, enhancing movement’s purpose beyond mere alteration. This approach ensures that every scene is a representation of a masterpiece, and each frame is a mnemonic tool that preserves emotion.
Shifting from appealing to grotesque and gentle to disturbing, the film fluidly moves between beautiful and disturbing. It is not uncommon for one moment to show gentle florals blooming across the screen and the other to plunge into a surreal depiction of pain or corruption. This duality is fundamental to the film’s impact, serving as a reflection of the deep-rooted social and emotional conflicts present in its narrative, and the film itself is a vessel of extremes.
Symbolism and Thematic Content
Incorporating radical themes and allegories in feminism, as well as social commentary and spiritual defiance, Belladonna of Sadness is a deeply thematic film. Stripped Jeanne’s identity as a powerless victim and turned into a fierce outcast marks the arc of femininity’s defiance and awakening. Her journey resonates with many wherein gaining knowledge, defying authority, or asserting autonomy leads to being labeled as ‘witch’ or ‘heretic’ under a patriarchal society.
Heralding a powerful condemnation of political and religious subjugation, the film also critique the abuse of feudal power. The violence Jeanne faces is deeply personal, and deeply political. The punitory actions taken against her are inflicted by dominant order institutions that are supposed to sustain order, exposing a reality that is founded on submission and domination. The moment Jeanne starts imparting knowledge and healing, especially to women, she becomes dangerously subverted, eliciting a doomed reaction from the guard that violence and fear safeguard.
Music and Sound Design
Belladonna of Sadness
Belladonna of Sadness is surrealist in nature due to its striking soundtrack that serves as an accompaniment to the animation. The soundtrack’s creator Masahiko Satoh successfully fuses the sounds of psychedelic rock, jazz, and classical music into something otherworldly yet deeply discomforting. The sparse dialogue that is present during the film’s entirety necessitates a deeper emotional response from the film’s score, which accompanies the viewer’s journey through ecstasy, heartbreak, and healing.
The accentuated score acts as emotional guidance for the film, superseding traditional storytelling elements which include narration and dialogue, along with the use of entrancing pulsations and somber tunes. This decision amplifies the film’s surrealist essence, diverging it from traditional narrative cinema.
Cultural Influence and Impact
Prior to its devastating commercial failure, Belladonna of Sadness sparked Mushi Production’s interest towards the end of their existence because of its gruesome storytelling, experimental animation and style, and darker content. The films explicitness along with its unique artistic vision baffled audiences which collapsed the company shortly after its release. Ever since, the production is virtually non-existent.
Modern animation, music videos, and other forms of contemporary art draw clear parallels with anime’s bold graphical styling and philosophy. For the 1970s, it cements the existence of counterculture while serving as an inspiring document that endlessly fuels creativity by transcending boundaries of artistic genres.
Conclusion
Belladonna of Sadness stands apart as an unwaveringly bold film by an independent creator. Its storytelling is unapologetic and intricate, accompanied by stunning visuals. Not only is the subject matter challenging, but the structure of the film is difficult to navigate—Belladonna invites the audience to reconsider animation to be poetry, a means of protest, and raw emotion. Although Jeanne’s final moments are consumed by fire, she is forever imparting the reality that beauty and defiance are entwined.
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