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Acclaimed writer/director Koji Wakamatsu (United Red Army, Caterpillar) explores the motivations behind the ritual suicide of famed Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima in this uncompromising historical drama. Having previously ascended to fame with a series of bestselling novels, Mishima shocked the entire nation when he and a handful of loyalists stormed the Japanese Military of Defense, and took the commandant hostage in an attempt to set off a military coup. When the assembled soldiers laughingly dismissed his impassioned plea to restore the powers of the Emperor, Mishima retreated to the commandant's office, and committed seppuku. In this film, we're permitted a rare glimpse into the mind of a man who never gave up on his convictions, even when it meant having to make the ultimate sacrifice.