Schrader’s visually stunning, collage-like portrait of one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century, Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata, Vengeance is Mine), investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted to create an impossible harmony between self, art, and society. Taking place on Mishima’s last day, when he famously committed ritual suicide in public, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s life as well as by gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey—who has shot five films for Schrader to date, including American Gigolo and Cat People—as well as exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka and an unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right.