Posted on Thursday, 17 November 2011

UGETSU MONOGATARI (Mizoguchi, 1953) - I don’t have a great track record with Japanese period films, but after liking KURONEKO quite a bit, I decided to finally try this established masterpiece, with decidedly mixed results. I can understand why it’s admired: the film making is fluid, the ghost story is interesting, and there are some amazingly atmospheric scenes, like the one above, ships passing in the night. I never quite managed to get into it, though, the performances keeping me at a distance (I disliked the actor playing Tobei especially). That’s not enough explanation, of course, and I might have to give this one another chance in a few years, but for now, I’ll file it under underwhelming. 

UGETSU MONOGATARI (Mizoguchi, 1953) - I don’t have a great track record with Japanese period films, but after liking KURONEKO quite a bit, I decided to finally try this established masterpiece, with decidedly mixed results. I can understand why it’s admired: the film making is fluid, the ghost story is interesting, and there are some amazingly atmospheric scenes, like the one above, ships passing in the night. I never quite managed to get into it, though, the performances keeping me at a distance (I disliked the actor playing Tobei especially). That’s not enough explanation, of course, and I might have to give this one another chance in a few years, but for now, I’ll file it under underwhelming. 

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  1. notesonfilms posted this