1953 ‘雨月物語’ Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
In the civil wars of 16th century Japan, two ambitious peasants in Nakanogo want to make their fortunes. The potter Genjuro intends to sell his wares for vast profits in the local city, Omizo, while his brother-in-law Tobei wishes to become a samurai. A respected sage warns them against seeking profit in times of war but his advice goes unheeded, and their insistency leads to the ruin of their families.
65/100
This troubles me.
For as long as I've maintained a film log ("Since 1992"), I've made a point of noting theatrical screenings vs. any form of home video. That's because I don't fully trust the latter. The advent of first DVD and then Blu-ray has helped, to be sure, and I'm not one of those zealots who insists that you haven't seen the movie unless/until you've seen a good 35mm print. But I do often wonder, when underwhelmed by a classic that had previously made me swoon on celluloid, whether seeing it in a diminished condition is largely responsible for the shift.
Here's something I wrote on a private forum after watching Tsai Ming-liang's The River twice in quick…
A glorious cinematic feast for the eyes! A haunting tale with supernatural overtones that will beguile you with its powerfully seductive storyline about man's lust for money and power! And how easily they will sacrifice everything truly meaningful to get it!
A masterfully crafted fable filled with consequences, great loss, regrets and redemption!
Ugetsu is based partially from a classic Japanese folklore literature "Tales of Moonlight and Rain" by author Ueda Akinari. Upon seeing the film again I really want to venture out and find this collection of stories. Mizoguchi's film brilliantly and flawlessly mixes Japanese folklore and morality tales of war, greed and consequence into an unforgettable film experience.
Japanese folklore and culture has always been a huge fascination for me. Ever since I begun developing a love for cinema, I had noticed my draw was mostly towards Japanese films and films by Ingmar Bergman. There is just something about the films from Japan, either that or its a stated fact that Japan is just simply a cinematic prosperous country. I mean…
🎧don't go chasin waterfalls
cuz a sex ghost at the end will seduce you🎤
I could talk about how much I loved Mizoguchi's restrained, free-flowing compositions. I could talk about how haunting and epic the film's wonderful score is. I could talk about the elegantly rendered tragedy at the centre of this. I could talk about how once again, Mizoguchi makes us feel the pain of a woman's struggle.
I could talk about many things, but no words could explain the indescribable feeling I had during Ugetsu's stunning final shot, where Mizoguchi's camera pans up from the heart-wrenching tragedy we've just witnessed and overlooks the vastness of our past, and inevitability of our present. It's the kind of feeling that films were made for.
Masterful.
Part beautiful morality fable, part haunting ghost story, part war film, part love story, part social period drama, and a full on fucking extraordinary piece of cinema.
My Personal Criterion Task: Film 21/100
Criterion Spine: #309
Oh man, indigestion is killing me right now. It's been a thing I've been dealing with off and on all summer, to the point that I've nixed spicy things like jalapenos from my diet and have to keep Gaviscon around (which only works about half the time, but that's a higher success rate than anything else I've tried). Frankly, this has nothing to do with Ugetsu, but I did want y'all to know that if this review sucks, it's because I'm thinking a whole lot more about pain and belching than I am the 97 haunting minutes that passed by my eyes.
Ugetsu follows two men as they attempt to eke…
This film deserves its reputation as a masterpiece, blending folklore, tragedy, morality tale, war drama, and ghost story into a unique cinematic experience. In its beautiful fairy tale tone, we get a cautionary story about the pitfalls of blind ambition, as our two male protagonists pursue riches, fame, and power. They both achieve their goals, but at a very steep price. By the time they realize the folly of their hollow dreams, and appreciate the love and support of their longsuffering wives, much tragedy has already occurred.
In one case, a beautiful ghost uses flattery to seduce the man into a life of wealth, luxury, and sensual pleasures. Eventually the man is overcome with guilt over abandoning his wife and…
The Supernatural in Japanese Film and Literature -- Week 4
Upon reading excerpts from Ueda Akinari's Tales of Moonlight and Rain and then revisiting Mizoguchi's adaptation, Ugetsu, I couldn't help but appreciate it more on a cultural level. Paradoxically, understanding the details in Ugetsu's design makes me less enthusiastic about it as a whole. It's a great film, make no mistake about that, and if one has any doubts, just look at that boat scene... beautiful. It's just that I once liked this more for my many questions. Overall, it's a satisfying, albeit overwhelming experience. What I really enjoy about this film is the bitter sweet nature of the story and how it ties with the supernatural coexisting with the lead characters. The ghosts seem far removed from one's common perception of ghosts, but it's not like they seem too human either. There's something unsettling but sensual about the film's depiction of the unknown.
The greed of men and women's turmoil because of that, disguised as a haunting ghost story.
Machiko Kyo as Wakasa was fa-bu-lous.
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