Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Falconeer Nagisa Oshima is one of my favorite directors; his films are always beautiful and intelligent. "Gohatto" is Oshima's first film in a long time, and it is nice to see that he has not lost his artistic vision. This film is visually stunning, with gorgeous lighting and elegant sets. Unfortunately the subject matter, or maybe how the subject was dealt with, was just too silly to be taken seriously. A young, feminine looking man joins a Samurai clan, only to be lusted after by the older men of the group. We have endless discussions about who is lusting after the boy, who is sleeping with whom, and who is jealous. Grown men acting like spurned women, old men making fools of themselves by falling in love with an 18 year old boy. The fact that these men are Samurai warriors is just so ludicrous. Seeing men of this stature behaving like school girls bordered on sheer comedy. The actors mostly seem embarrassed and uncomfortable with the roles they are playing, and this viewer felt silly just watching it. This is an odd film, worth seeing for Oshima's special visual style. But I cannot recommend it as a good film. The script really destroys the whole production.

ekeby I want to comment on the geisha scene--one that is less than a minute long. There is more power, mystery, eroticism, history, suspense--and a whole bunch of other adjectives--in that one brief scene than in the entire movie Memoirs of a Geisha. Or any other movie I've ever seen with a geisha.* It is absolutely hypnotic and something you will never forget. And that's just a tiny fraction of this movie. Same sex relationships figure in the plot, so I count this as one of my ten best gay films. But it is not a gay film in any other sense except that the desire and love is for the same sex. The dialog is literate and witty, the characters are multi-dimensional, and the story has many levels. It is a meditation on beauty, obsession, jealousy, order, and disorder. This movie is fascinating, mysterious, and exquisite. What else could you possibly want?*EDIT: I learned from the message boards that the character is actually a high-ranked courtesan, not a geisha. For devotees of Japanese culture, this distinction is important; for us regular people, not so much.

coyo I adored it. I watched it four times in a row and I was squealing with happiness and bawling my eyes out at the end.I love the portrait of Sozaburo, or rather the LACK of portrait of him. Even though he's the main character he's only seen through other's eyes and you never know what he's thinking or planning.The other characters are bloody brilliant, too. I really feel sorry for Tashiro, the only character I really feel for throughout the movie. It's obvious from the start that he loves Sozaburo (there is a really cute scene where that is obvious but I'm not telling since that's a SPOILER). I also really enjoy how the generals are portrayed, the scenery, the symbolism (which a friend had to explain cause I didn't get it first time we watched it)...All in all, brilliant movie which everybody should see! Well, not people who have a problem with gay men, but everybody else should see it.

marinika Gohatto is a movie done extremely aestheticly in a true Japanese tradition (it almost seems that colors were specially chosen for each scene to give you the incredible feeling of understanding what will happen next). It is erotic, which is cruel and sweet at the same time. Not to mention - hot ;)The soundtracks create a weird mystical effect, giving the events a slightly different meaning and keeping the viewer glued to the screen even when nothing is going on.The movie leaves more questions then it answers, keeping your thoughts on it for a long time. It is full of symbols that are not easy to decode having a non-Japanese menthality. Kept me wanting to see it over and over (like it usually is with anime), each time finding something new and incredible.A perfect work of art, by a true master.