Lion in the Mirror: A quiet stare at greatness

Is it worth your time?

If you have the patience for a slow, meditative pace, definitely. It’s a documentary that rewards people who just want to look at someone being really, really good at something. If you’re looking for a flashy biopic or a movie that explains the history of theater, you should probably skip it. This isn't Crashing Hollywood—nobody is running anywhere.

The whole thing feels like you’re sitting in the corner of a room you aren't supposed to be in. The camera just watches.

The makeup process

There is this one shot that goes on for a long time where they’re applying the white base to the face. It’s quiet. You can hear the brush strokes. It felt like watching someone paint a portrait, but the portrait is alive and about to go out on stage.

It’s weirdly hypnotic. I found myself counting the layers, which is probably not what the director intended, but whatever. 🎭

Movement and stillness

Shinzou Fujita moves with this weight that’s hard to describe. When he’s just sitting there, he looks like a statue. Then he moves a finger, or his eyes shift, and suddenly the whole room changes energy.

I wish the movie spent more time in the wings. There’s this brief moment where a curtain moves, and you see the chaos of the crew, and then it’s back to the dancer. That transition was sharper than anything in Hell's Crater.

• The silence is used really well.
• The dressing room smell (or what I imagine it smells like) seems to ooze off the screen.
• Some of the interview cuts feel a little rushed, like they were afraid we’d get bored of listening to the experts talk.

You can tell the director was nervous about keeping the audience's attention. Sometimes the music swells a bit too much when the visuals were doing just fine on their own. It’s like when Thanks a Million tries to be too clever for its own good.

Ultimately—wait, I promised I wouldn't say that word. It just feels like a very human piece of work. It’s got all the messy, slow bits that a bigger budget production would have cut out in the editing room. I’m glad they kept the long shots of the hands. Those hands have seen everything. ✋

It’s not a masterpiece, and it doesn't need to be. It’s just a nice way to spend an hour.