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Sayonara (1957)
In director Joshua Logan's romantic-drama set in the
early 1950s about the issue of American soldiers serving in Japan during
the Korean War (1950-1953), who became romantically involved with indigenous
Japanese natives:
- in 1951, West-Point educated Air Force Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver
(Marlon Brando) from Richmond, Virginia, with a slurred southern
accent, was being transferred from the warfront in
Korea (due to the excuse of
"combat fatigue") and redeployed and stationed at a Japanese
air base in Kobe; he was being sent there specifically by General Webster
(Kent Smith), the father of Gruver's own red-headed American fiancee
Eileen (Patricia Owens) from Tulsa, Oklahoma; Major
Gruver's task would be to confront the issue of soldiers becoming
romantically involved with Japanese women in post-war Japan, in defiance
of US military policy
- Major Gruver was specifically ordered to dissuade
his subordinate friend - a junior officer and enlisted Airman Joe
Kelly (Red Buttons), from marrying a Japanese "native" woman,
Katsumi (Miyoshi Umeki); Kelly's marriage would mean he would be prohibited
from taking his foreign-born wife to the US; once they had arrived at
the Itami Air Base in Kobe, Major Lloyd reluctantly agreed to serve
as 'Best Man' and as a witness at Kelly's and Katsumi's marriage even though he
objected to their marriage
- Major Gruver was met at the plane at the airbase in
Kobe by General and Mrs. Webster (Kent Smith and Martha Scott), Eileen's
parents, and to his surprise, Eileen was sitting in their car to
greet him
General and Mrs. Webster (Kent Smith and Martha Scott)
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Major Gruver's Pretty Fiancee: Eileen Webster (Patricia
Owens)
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- at the exclusive Officer's Club, Marine
Corps Captain Mike Bailey (James Garner), accompanied by pretty Japanese
national Fumiko (Reiko Kuba), one of Japan's most famous dancers,
was being denied entrance - an example of "out-and-out fraternization" that
had been outlawed by the US military; the two were forced to leave
the premises
- Lloyd's own doubts about his future marriage with
Eileen grew more intense; after attendance at a Kabuki Theater Show,
dinner, and a stroll in a garden, they discussed their future; in
their unstable relationship, she feared that he would
become like his father, a four-star general neglectful of his mother,
and she didn't want to be married to him based on personal status alone,
rather than for true passionate love ("Oh Lloyd, it's me you've
got to love. Oh Lloyd, haven't you ever felt like, like grabbing
me and hauling me off to a shack somewhere?") - while trying to convince
Kelly to quit his affair, the Major's own personal beliefs (and his
engagement to Eileen) were also being challenged; their argument
was the beginning of the disintegration of their relationship
- Air Force Major Gruver risked his career by serving
as 'Best Man' and a witness for his friend Kelly's and Katsumi's
marriage; he participated in the ring ceremony, and gently kissed
Katsumi on the lips, with Kelly's permission
- in a garden near the Officer's Club, Captain Bailey
led Major Gruver to a nearby bridge
(known colloquially as "Bitchi-Bashi") that linked the
celebrated, all-female theater company, the Matsubayashi Girls Revue
("The Matsubayashi girls are the most famous girls in Japan.
You know, they sing, they dance, they act all the parts, no men"),
to the dormitory village where the female performers lived; many
of the troupe’s fans joined them as they watched the dancers
parade from the village to the theater before and after each show.
Captain Bailey commented about how the dancers were strictly forbidden
to have romantic relationships, or they would be immediately dismissed
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Bridge with Dance Performers Crossing,
as Bailey and Gruver Observed
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- during an afternoon performance
of the beautiful Japanese Matsubayashi Revue dancers and their star
performer Hana-ogi (Miiko Taka in her debut film), the "number
one girl"; afterwards, Major Gruver became obsessed with meeting and
speaking to Hana-ogi, but had no luck at the bridge; fortuitously,
Gruver was invited to meet Hana-ogi at Kelly's house for dinner (she
was friends with Katsumi); however, upon meeting her, she straight-forwardly
expressed her anti-American sentiments to him - in perfect English:
("My father was killed by American bomb dropped on
my country. You have been my enemy. I have hated Americans. I
have thought they are savages. There has been nothing but vengeance
in my heart")
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Dinner at Kelly's Home with Hana-ogi
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- but then, she thoughtfully acknowledged that she
had wrongful feelings of hate for him and graciously asked for his
forgiveness: "I have been watching you, too, and you have not looked
like a savage. And when Katsumi-san told me how gently you kissed
her the day she became a bride, how tenderly you kissed my sweet
little friend, I realized the hate was of my own making. That is
why I came to ask you to forgive me for what I have been feeling.
Gruver-san, will you forgive me?"
- to Gruver's surprise, she offered or submitted herself
to him - she also acknowledged that they would face dangers in their
relationship if discovered, but was ready to fall in love with him
- this would possibly be the only time she would fall in love: "My
life is planned. I am dedicated to Matsubayashi, as you are dedicated
to American military life. I have never been in love. But I have
dreamed and thought about it and waited. The danger that lies ahead
of us we must face now. The danger of discovery for both of us, danger
of weakness when it is over. I will never fall in love again. But
I will love you, Ace-san, if that is your desire."
- a "riled-up" Colonel
Crawford (Douglas Watson) arrived to privately speak to General Webster
about his fierce campaign to discourage and disrupt romantic relationships
and marriages between American military personnel and Japanese females.
(Eileen discreetly eavesdropped on their conversation and learned
of Gruver's new romantic interest); Crawford had placed spies around
Kelly's house and had inadvertently discovered Major Gruver's romantic
interest in Hana-Ogi; Webster agreed to Crawford's suggestion
to order a new regulation that would prohibit any further fraternizations
between servicemen and local women
- as he was falling in love, Major Gruver defied the
new order by continuing to secretly meet with Hana-Ogi at Kelly's
house and in the countryside; during his love affair, Lloyd was directly
violating the recent orders from Camp Kobe
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Gruver's Secret Romance with Hana-ogi
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Hana-ogi Singing "Sayonara" Theme Song with
Puppet
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Night of Love: Tanabata
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- Kelly received disturbing news that the spiteful Colonel
Crawford had given orders that all US military men married to Japanese
women had been reassigned, and he would be shipped back to the US
- without his wife (who was now pregnant); Major Gruver attempted
to persuade the Colonel to countermand or postpone the order, and
exempt Kelly from being shipped out, but his request was refused;
Gruver also sought out General Webster to plead for help, but found
that he was also unwilling to interfere with the chain of command
- angered by their lack of cooperation,
Gruver decided to divulge his own relationship with a Japanese woman
and his plans to marry: "Kelly's from my outfit, Mrs. Webster.
l was his best man. And l'm planning to marry a Japanese girl myself";
it was
a pronouncement of his formal engagement breakup with Eileen; then
he surprised Hana-ogi with news that he had already signed papers
for their wedding, but she refused to accept his unexpected
proposal at such a difficult time ("Matsubayashi has
been kind to me, Lloyd. l am obligated to them...They are my life.
l will bring shame to them, disgrace"); she divulged that she
too was being punished (although leniently) with an imminent transfer
to Tokyo by the company for consorting with an American
- to temporarily forget about
everyone's problems, the two couples took the train to Osaka to watch
a puppet/marionette show. The show's
"tender story" was a clear foreshadowing of the tragic
conclusion of the film - the practice of ritualized suicide (or shinju) ("lt
is custom for lovers to die together when they can no longer face life")
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Puppet Show: Lovers' Ritualized Suicidal Deaths
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Kelly's and Katsumi's Double-Suicide
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- soldiers (MPs) arrived to
board up Kelly's house with planks of wood reading "OFF LIMITS,"
and Kelly was told he wouldn't need his house because
he was shipping out to the US in two days; Major Gruver was taken to
the base and placed on house-arrest before being flown to another airbase,
and Hana-ogi was flown to Tokyo immediately; two MPs asked for Gruver's
assistance in helping to find Kelly; at Kelly's home, he and Bailey
found them lying together in bed (victims of a double-suicide) and was
devastated
- instead of allowing his reassignment to the US, Gruver
flew to Tokyo where Hana-ogi was now performing with her Japanese
theater troupe; he was ultimately able to convince her to join him, and
proceed to the American consulate to get married
- the two were ambushed by rival Japanese and
American military reporters (from Stars and Stripes) who were
looking to interview him for a story scoop; Hana-ogi spoke first about
accepting Gruver's proposal, and then he commented on his pending
marriage to a Japanese woman (that would offend both the U.S. military
"brass" and the Japanese)
- the film ended with Gruver's final line to the reporters
about how he felt about the negative reaction they would receive:
("Tell 'em we said, 'Sayonara')
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Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver (Marlon Brando)
Airman Joe Kelly (Red Buttons)
Pretty Dancer Fumiko (Reiko Kuba) - Denied Entrance into
the Officer's Club with Captain Bailey
Major Gruver and Eileen at the Kabuki Theater Show
and in the Garden Discussing Their Future (and Kissing) Before Breaking Up
Kelly's and Katsui's Wedding - Gruver Served as "Best Man"
Gruver's First View of Hana-ogi (Miiko Taka)
Hana-ogi Performing On Stage
Eileen Eavesdropping on News of Gruver's New Relationship
Gruver Finding Inner Peace with Hana-ogi
Colonel Crawford's Denial of Gruver's Request that Kelly Be Exempted
From Being Sent Home
Gruver's Formal Engagement Breakup with Eileen
Hana-ogi at Kelly's Window - "Sayonara"
Reconciling with Each Other in Tokyo
Hana-ogi to Reporters: "Major Gruver has asked me to be his wife"
Gruver's Last Line: "Tell 'em we said 'Sayonara'!"
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