The author enlists former soldiers and military officials as he attempts to stage a coup after getting inspired by his brother committing suicide after killing, a representative of a financial company right before, and the meeting with the heads of the company. This thought of overthrowing the government was delved into in greater detail in his banned book “Outlaw Plan of Reorganization,” which led him and his family to be put under surveillance by the Secret Police. But, despite of facing some opposition and solving personal conflicts, he was able to quickly rally people around him.
Amidst the increasing surveillance came a surge of followers, Kita himself began to witness some of the issues he had to face. With the CSTP closing in, he became increasingly paranoid and began to question if all the chaos would actually work out. While there were many sociopolitical issues going on around him, his wife, Suzu (Yasuyo Matsumura) was still unhappy with the fact that there was no child while he lost family focus due to his growing obsession with theories. In the midst of all that, an inquisitive soldier found solace and wisdom in him.
In his Preface to this one hour feature, Yoshida seeks to place himself within the events of February 1936, and why such events relate to the politically charged moods of the 1960s, and the 70s. While “Heroic Purgatory” is skeptical on whether the socio-independence efforts of the further youth of the decade would be of any use in the forthcoming years, “Coup d’Etat” turns back the pages of time, attempting to probe Japan, the kinds of political unrest which might explain, but also outlines the picture style of the country from a psychological standpoint.
For all intents and purposes, “Coup d’Etat” appears to be more of an introductory part of works such as Paul Schrader’s “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters”, although such a claim fails to consider quite how Yohida is describing the more sane aspects of the events and their processes in preference to the more intense crudeness, as he was more concerned with figures as that of Yukio Mishima, than the novel. Even so, both figures, Mishima and Kita, have largely slipped down the rabbit hole of their visions and concepts, rendering themselves completely amnesic about the notion of self-doubt, and how violence might serve their purposes more than harmony.
When it comes to the political trilogy’s other installments, “Coup d’Etat” is actually quite linear, and simultaneously emphasizes more on the visual components when compared to the former, which shows the director’s talent in marrying aesthetics to substance. Like in “Heroic Purgatory”, cinematographer Motokichi Hasegawa tends to angle his characters in a rather singular perspective, more often than not in the margins of the frame which then allows them to serve as metaphors for their emotions.
Coupled with Rentaro Kitamura’s memorable performance, this approach serves as a useful tool for deciphering the emotional and psychological growth of the character whose sadomasochistic, self-destructive and self-condemning behavior created a negative view towards certain societal urges that many saw Kitacould, oh so clearly, symbolized. Toshi Ichiyanagi’s music also builds up this character and his relationships by maintaining serenity with soft piano sounds then slowly starting to introduce intricate and erratic tunes to create a sense of disarray.
To summarize, “Coup d’Etat” is an interesting flick about the February 1936 events in conjunction to the social evolution of Japan. Kiju Yoshida merges traditional form of storytelling techniques with an aesthetic approach combined with performances that demonstrate some of the flaws in the national character and the peoples’ relationship with its history.
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