Souls on the Road (Rojo no reikon). 1921. Directed by Minoru Murata.

(11/18/99-11/28/99)

I had a lot of trouble with this film. My eyes were hurting bad and I found it hard to follow and to understand who was who. I had the father mixed up with the man who held the burglars at bay with the gun and also with the wealthy man who holds the Christmas party. So, for much of the film I wasn't "into it." But then I did get "into it" and I can say that this film was an emotionally wrenching experience for me.

There is the story of a father and son. They quarrel and the son leaves the father's house. It was not clear to me what the fight was about. The son tries to make a career as a musician, but fails and returns home, destitute, to ask forgiveness and help from the father. He has a wife and daughter with him. The daughter is very sick. The father adamantly refuses and the son, his wife and their child go out into an ice storm. They take shelter in a barn, The father goes after them and offers shelter to the women, but not to the son who, he says, must go out and work in the fields (or chop wood?) to atone for his sin. During all this quarreling the little daughter dies. The son appears to die outside.

At the beginning and at the end of this film we are told about mercy. There is a quote from Maxim Gorky to the effect that "there is a moment to show mercy. We must not miss the moment." The theme of mercy is also illustrated in the story of two convicts who, hungry, attempt to steal from a wealthy man's house and are caught. The guard forces them to beat one another, but at the end shows them mercy and lets them go.

The two stories don't really come together--at least not that I was able to see. They do interact at one point when the son approaches the thieves on the road and asks for food for his hungry daughter. They give him the last of their bread. So when they are shown mercy later it's a case of "one good turn deserves another."

There wasn't enough of the story about the two thieves or it wasn't interesting enough. It didn't seem to me to be sufficiently developed.

The wealthy man's daughter seemed a perfect part for Mary Pickford. When the son and his family are sent out into the storm it was like Jesus, Mary and Joseph, an analogy pointed up by the fact that it is Christmas Eve and there is a Christmas party going on nearby. What makes the story of the son and his little daughter so sad is that I suspect that the wealthy man and his daughter, who are having the Christmas party, would have gladly provided them with shelter in the spirit of Christmas.

I was very moved, but was it a cliche and my response simply "stock response"? That moment when the serving girl cries out that the little girl is cold is harrowing--but that doesn't mean that the film was well-made. I would really like the chance to see this film again.