| Saharin-no-Bara (Roses in Sakhalin) |
| In a university hospital room at night, Hiroshi Yabuki (Koji Yakusho) puts potassium chloride in a hypodermic syringe. Then, murmuring, "I won't let you suffer any longer." Yabuki gives Nobuko, a woman who has long been suffering from torturing pain caused by bone-marrow cancer, an injection in the arm. Next we see Yabuki as a tourist in Sakhalin getting off a train at Yuzhno-Sakhalin station. Yabuki goes to a hotel near the station. Once in his room, he puts a photograph of a woman on the bedside table. The woman is Nobuko. Looking outside, Yabuki finds a figure like Nobuko among the people on the street. He murmurs, "Nobuko, you have followed me!" It seems that Yabuki has the illusion that he is once again glimpsing Nobuko. In the hotel restaurant, Yabuki happens to become friendly with a pretty Russian waitress named Martia. He tries to make himself understood both by gesture and in broken Russian, but when he finds her looking puzzled, he takes out a book from his bag, and starts reading some lines in Russian. Martia instantly understands that these lines are from "Uncle Vanya". Yabuki's purpose in visiting Sakhalin seems to be to see a Russian doctor named Sollin, who has been to study medicine at a medical school in Hokkaido. Yabuki and Sollin seem to have made friends on the university campus when they performed Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" in Russian: Yabuki's role was that of Uncle Vanya. In Japanese, Yabuki now tells Sollin that his fiancee, Nobuko has died of bone-marrow cancer recently and that he has left the hospital for which he had been working. Sollin then suggests to Yabuki that he should work with him at his hospital. They also talk about the Russian waitress Martia: when Sollin takes Yabuki to a theater hall to show him a rehearsal by an amateur group to which he belongs, Yabuki becomes surprised to find Martia on the stage. Sollin explains that Martia actually wants to become an actress. At night, in his room at the hotel, Yabuki whispers to the photograph of Nobuko on a bedside table that he will buy a bunch of roses for her tomorrow. While buying a bunch of beautiful roses at a stand on a street, Yabuki is spoken to by Martia. Speaking something in Russian, she tugs him toward the Chekhov theater. Inside the theater, Yabuki understands that Martia is going to get an audition as an actress. She speaks the famous soliloquy of Nina in "Sea-gull". While watching Martia standing on the stage in front of a director, Yabuki suddenly sees Nobuko dressed in white as Nina behind Martia and speaking the same lines in Japanese. Martia becomes disappointed after the audition because she is told by a famous director from Moscow that she is not talented enough to be an actress. Understanding the situation, Yabuki hands her the bunch of roses which he has bought for Nobuko and invites her to a picnic to the countryside to encourage her. They have a happy time, riding a carriage, rowing a boat, and running merrily in the forest, when Martia suddenly falls on the ground and becomes unconscious for a little while. Hearing that Martia becomes unconscious from time to time, Yabuki asks Sollin to check Martia's health because it is quite likely that she is suffering from leukemia. Yabuki's guess is correct. Sollin tells Yabuki that Martia's leukemia is still at the first stage, and that with the help of an anti-cancer drug her illness can be cured, adding that his hospital does not have enough of the anti-cancer drug. To this remark, Yabuki reacts immediately, saying that he will go back to Japan the next day and send the necessary medicine to his hospital. Sollin tells him that he would like Yabuki to return to Sakhalin soon because he wishes Yabuki to become a head doctor at the new hospital that he and his colleagues are planning to establish. Yabuki cordially declines his offer saying that he is not qualified for such a position. Yabuki now stands on the platform of the railway station to leave for Japan, when Martia, looking very sad, rushes to see him off in her waitress uniform. When Yabuki's train pulls into the platform, he suddenly talks to her in Japanese, saying, "Martia, I have got something to confess to you. I know you don't understand me but do please listen to me, would you?" Yabuki tells her that he has killed his fiancee who had been torturing pain casued by cancer by injecting potassium chloride in her arm. He has not been asked to kill her by Nobuko herself nor by her family members. It was his decision. He continues, saying "Nobody knows that I have killed her. Why disturb the world by confessing this? This is the mercy killing. I have relieved her from unbearable pain. Nobody can condemn of me for this. I am guiltless. I can't be a murderer. .... I came here wishing to think this way but in vain. Now I know that I can never erase the fact that I have killed her by my own hand. Even though she may have forgiven me, I can't forgive myself. I came to realize it when I came here. When I confess this on returning, I may lose the doctor's qualification and may be accused of being a murderer. But I'm afraid that I won't be able to go anywhere if I don't do this. Martia, would you forgive me? Martia only knows that Yabuki feels so sad. Then he takes out the book of "Uncle Vanya" and reads: Oh, Sonia, no Martia, I am miserable; if you only knew how miserable I am!" Martia takes his book and starts reading the next Sonia's line: "What can we do? We must live our lives. Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live through the long procession of days before us, and through the long evenings; we shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us; we shall work for others without rest, both now and when we are old; and when our last hour comes we shall meet it humbly; and there, beyond the grave, we shall say that we have suffered, that we have wept, and that our life was bitter, and God will have pity on us. Ah, then dear, dear Uncle, we shall see that bright and beautiful life; we shall rejoice and look back upon our sorrow here; a tender smile -- and --we shall rest. I have faith, Uncle, fervent, passionate faith." Finding Yabuki weeping, Martia contiues, "My poor, poor Uncle Vanya, you are crying! ..... but wait, Uncle Vanya, wait!" In Japanese, Yabuki says, "Kami-sama, Oyurushi-kudasai! (God please forgive me!)" and runs onto the train. Looking towards Yabuki waving to her from the train, Martia keeps on saying, "We shall rest. We shall rest. Please come back someday. I will keep your book until then." To those of you who have read it, I say 'Thank you for reading such a long synopsis'. Every time I watch the video of this TV drama (first telecast in 1991), when Koji Yakusho was 35 yeras old, I can't help feeling emotional. The theme of this drama is sad and serious. I respect Yakusho for having performed such a difficult role in a difficult situation. When he is with Martia, he speaks to her in Japanese, in broken Russian, and uses some lines from Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" reading the drama book. I think that he expressed well his complicated feeling of grievance and remorse. When he makes a confession to Martia in Japanese about what he has done to his fiancee, he seems to be actually crying. It is a very impressive drama. ----- March 20, 2004 ----- |
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| November 24 , 1991 |
| Cast: Koji Yakusho: Hiroshi Yabuki Malina : Martia Sayoko Nasu: Nobuko Akitsu Brian M. Yull : Sollin |
| Scenario: Shin-ichi Ichikawa Director: Osamu Naganuma |
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| Yabuki and Martia |
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| Synopsis |
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