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Onibaba (1964) Director: Kaneto Shindō IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058430/ Trailerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5mFJGSbdYs (I don't recommend watching the trailer unless you want to get a feeling for the movie, because it gives away too much.) Akutogawa Ryonosuke is regarded as the one of the best writers of Japanese classical literature, if not the greatest. The imagary of his writing was viceral and engaging, and held you fixed in your imagination. One of his most famous stories was "Kumo no ito", which involves a spider's weblike thread decending into a pit that leads to hell. A thief climbs the web to escape from hell, but when others try to climb as well he becomes afraid that the slender thread might break, and starts yelling for everyone to get off, demonstrating his selfishness in trying to save himself. At that moment, the strand breaks, sending everyone back to hell.  While this movie is not directly related to the story above, the central theme of a pit leading to hell, the rope leading out, and the corruption of the soul through reliance on animal-like desires is central to this movie. The dark pit that contains the bodies of the unfortunate dead who have been slain by the movie's main characters is ominous and ever-present throughout the movie, almost becoming one of the main characters itself with its ability to foment a sense of dread upon the viewers. It is a place of death and malicious intentions, and the filmaker is fixated on its brooding nature. It is also hidden in rush reeds, disguising its true nature until it is too late. The cinematography is at once beautiful and yet desolate in nature. The imagery is evocative and symbolic - reeds mirror the characters emotions, moving more frantically as the character's emotions begin to race. It is also adept at showing the ugliness of a people who are forced to do whatever they can just to make it to the next day. This movie is film noire. There is no clear "hero", and every character has any many flaws. The line between good and evil is blurred beyond all recognition. There is a prize to be sought but once it is within grasp, it is not what it once seemed to be. Actions are taken out of pure selfishness, but in a world that has been torn apart by war and famine, selfishness is an act of preservation. This is a world where only those who live by their wits will survive, and might is overcome by guile. Civilization, at least in the remote areas, no longer exists and those who survive are ruled by rawest of emotions, lust and greed. Samurai with all of their martial training are no match for savages such as these. There is also the theme of sex, and its connection to power, and how it can destroy everything with its unyielding grip.  But this is also a horror movie. The other central symbol of the film is the mask of the demon. It is an object of evil, and those who use it are doomed to suffer misfortune. In typical Japanese fashion, this is not a horror movie with monsters prowling about, but a movie about how the horror bought upon the victims is something that they have to live with, as opposed to typical hollywood horror movies where the victims are summarily dismissed and don't have to live with what has happened. Eventually, one of the main characters is transformed into the demon by their own desire, or so they believe. The transformation is more psychological than physical, not unlike a Japanese version of Norman Bates. As time goes on the psychological begins to take over the physical without the host of the demon realizing it. It is the corruption of man unchecked by carnal desires that causes the destruction of the human soul.  The films ending is the payoff that will leave you thinking. Some people hate movies that leave you with more questions than answers, but if the questions are thought-provoking, then the filmaker has done his job. Many people complain that the shortcoming of film as a media is its inability to challenge the viewer to use their own imagination. Yet, when you have an ending such as this, it seems easy to refute such claims. No ending can be better than the one you make for yourself. This movie may be hard to get outside of Japan, but it seems to be on Netflix. Also Criterion has made a DVD of it, as well. Final Score 
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Nov 12, 2009 14:53
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 02:25 |
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