Showing posts with label Kenji Mizoguchi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenji Mizoguchi. Show all posts

Sunday, 2 February 2014

Ugetsu (1953) - ★★★★★

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Writers: Yoshikata Yoda (screenplay), Akinari Ueda (stories), Matsutarô Kawaguchi (adaptation)
Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Masayuki Mori, Mitsuko Mito, Eitarô Ozawa, Machiko Kyô

Set in the midst of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (between 1573 to 1603), Ugetsu is the tale of four people whose lives were ravaged by war and the savagery of men. Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanaka) and Genjûrô (Masayuki Mori) both have a child together, and make a living by farming and making pottery. Ohama (Mitsuko Mito) and Tôbee (Eitarô Ozawa) are close relations I believe, who live nearby in the same village. When their village is raided, the four must do all they can to stay alive, and thrive in a time filled with conflict and chaos. It is a harrowing story of greed, lust, ambition, the will to survive, and the supernatural.