A Page of Madness
A Page of Madness

Movie spotlight

A Page of Madness

1926
Movie
71 min
Japanese

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

Insights

IMDb7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes97%
Director: Teinosuke KinugasaGenres: Drama, Horror, Mystery

Plot Summary

A former sailor takes a job as a caretaker at a mental asylum in the Japanese countryside, intending to rescue his wife who has been confined there. As he navigates the chaotic and often nightmarish environment, the lines between reality and delusion blur, revealing the profound psychological toll the institution takes on its inhabitants and staff. The film explores themes of madness, societal alienation, and the search for freedom within oppressive circumstances.

Critical Reception

Considered a masterpiece of Japanese avant-garde cinema, 'A Page of Madness' was initially met with controversy and largely forgotten for decades until its rediscovery. Upon its re-evaluation, it gained international acclaim for its groundbreaking visual style and exploration of psychological themes, cementing its status as a significant work in early film history.

What Reviewers Say

  • Praised for its expressionistic and surreal visual style.

  • Commended for its bold exploration of mental illness and societal critique.

  • Lauded as a pioneering work of Japanese modernist cinema.

Google audience: Information on Google user reviews is not readily available for this historic film.

Awards & Accolades

None notable, largely due to its historical obscurity and lack of contemporary awards.

Fun Fact

The film was originally thought to be lost for over 40 years, with its rediscovery in 1971 considered a major event in film preservation and scholarship.

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My Review

TMDB Reviews

2 reviews
griggs79

griggs79

_A Page of Madness_ is silent, surreal, and visually arresting — a descent into something far murkier than mere madness. The asylum pulses with unease; inmates convulse in what appears to be seizures, captured through a lens that mistakes i...

Patrick E. Abe

Patrick E. Abe

"Kurutta "Ippeiji" is notable for several reasons. First, it is one of the few Japanese silent movies of the 1920's to survive. Second, unlike most silent films, it lacks intertitles/title/dialog cards because a narrator, who also acte...

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