I watched Takeshi Kitano’s Kubi as the opening film of Queer East Festival in London. The freely and vividly homoerotic scenes are certainly there, and no one seems to be conflicted or tormented about their desires. That kind of unashamed vitality feels, in a way, such a radical especially, as a historical Japanese film. It is a Japan from before Western values took hold.
That said, when compared to the bittersweet complexity of Beat Takeshi’s portrayal of Hideyoshi—a man who, no matter how far he climbs the ranks, remains a mere “peasant-turned-general,” always on the outside looking in through a broken telescope, unable to live within the aesthetics of the samurai class or their appreciation of gay love—the depiction of queerness in the film becomes suddenly shallow and vague. Which is why I’d argue; this isn’t a queer film. Sure, it was just Queer East invited it (and to be clear, I wholeheartedly support itself).
Take the scene where Mitsuhide and Murashige lie naked in bed. The Japanese style bed is bizarrely tidy and dry there’s not even a trace of sensuality. The repeated kissing scenes, too, feel far more superficial than moments of ambition or life-and-death stakes. There’s even a sense of hesitation in the air, like: “Well… Kitano says so, so I guess I’ll give it a try…”
If having straight actors play these roles leads to awkwardness or a ignorance, then why not bring in queer creatives, queer actors, or even intimacy coordinators? I’m here! Although I’m in London though. If the intention had been to show characters engaging in same-sex acts just for the sake of social climbing, then that hollowness might have made sense. But if we’re meant to believe that the peasant-born Hideyoshi is witnessing a passion so intense he simply can’t understand it. It’s just not convincing.
The one exception is the scene, also featured in the trailer, where Nobunaga feeds a manju off the tip of his sword to Murashige, then kisses his bloodied mouth. That moment had a perverse Mishima Yukio-ish esque intensity to it, powerful. For my desclaimer.Not really to my taste.
It’s not that things have to be explicit. But there are so many ways to make queerness feel funny, tense and awkward.
The ambition to portray historical gay relationships in a form other than romance, and with this kind of massive budget, is genuinely intriguing. I imagine queer artists around the world—myself included—who are scraping together grants for short films, are wildly envious. And that’s exactly why I hope Kitano Takeshi, as director, won’t just brush it all off with a “dunno, man” like his Hideyoshi character does in the film.
★★★☆☆