Cinema
Ugetsu
雨月物語
Kenji Mizoguchi · 1953
Synopsis
In the sixteenth century, during the civil wars, the potter Genjūrō lives with his wife Miyagi and their son near Lake Biwa, in Ōmi province; he wants to profit from the war to get rich. His brother-in-law Tōbei dreams of becoming a samurai. The two families cross the lake to sell the pottery in town, and the men leave their wives along the way: Tōbei deliberately loses his in the crowd in order to buy armour, according to Cinema Sentries, while a noblewoman, Wakasa, invites Genjūrō to her home and flatters him.
Context
The film brings together two Japanese tales published together in 1776, and owes part of Tōbei's story to a French short story of 1883. Produced by Daiei, it was released on 26 March 1953, and Miyagawa Kazuo was its cinematographer. Of note are a fluid mise en scène drawing on scroll painting, an atmosphere of mist, and a music of flutes and harp reserved for the supernatural. In France it was released on 18 March 1959 and reissued in cinemas in 2019, according to AlloCiné.
Who it is for
A film of about an hour and a half, in Japanese with subtitles, in which the shift into the supernatural takes place without a break.
Prizes and reception
Silver Lion at Venice in 1953, it was among the top ten in the Sight and Sound poll in 1962 and in 1972.