A 1954 Japanese period drama directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, often released abroad as Sansho the Bailiff, about a Heian-era family torn apart and sold into slavery.
Production
Daiei Film released Sansho Dayu in March 1954. Kenji Mizoguchi adapted a short story by Ogai Mori from a medieval Japanese folk tale. The screenplay was credited to Yoshikata Yoda and Yahiro Fuji, and Fumio Hayasaka, also a frequent Kurosawa collaborator, composed the score.
Story
Set in 11th-century Japan, the family of an exiled provincial governor is separated on a road journey to join him. The mother is sold into prostitution, and her young children Zushio and Anju are sold to the brutal estate manager Sansho. Years later Zushio escapes to seek justice for his family.
Reception
Sansho Dayu won the Silver Lion at the 1954 Venice Film Festival, the third consecutive year Mizoguchi had taken a major prize at Venice. The film has appeared in multiple Sight and Sound critics’ polls of the greatest films ever made and is considered a landmark of the Japanese postwar cinema.
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