As celebrated Japanese author Yukio Mishima (Ken Ogata) summons his own private army to meet one of the Emperor's Generals, take him hostage, and address the crowds before committing suppuku, we are shown flashbacks of his early life with the aid of three dramatizations of his own stories for insight. Paul Schrader's Mishima, which he wrote with his brother Leonard and his wife Chieko, is a bizarre, completely unique biopic with an unforgettable central performance by Ogata.
*** 1/2 out of ****
