I've only watched a few Masaki Kobayashi films. One of them being Harakiri which inspired the 2000s film, very methodical, 60s Palme D'or acting based, all building up Hitchcock suspense and tension up to the seppuku.
The film is like watching four Draculas, four Wizard of Ozes. All four endings are great because of their abruptness.
(I'm sorry for basically making this a plot summary, but it's 60s Palme D'or. A little hard to get! XD So watch on Hulu, then come back.)
The film starts with a writer writing the 4 stories but in one timeline.
The husband wanting to live with his wife opposed to divorcing her. He loves her more than everything in the world, only to see her become the ghost of herself, a bag of bones, death, a doppleganger, so many things she isn’t. Theme of the conservative’s perception of family, love and marriage, obsession, addiction. Very similar to the works of Kaneto Shindo and the feminist ghost, haunting the chauvinist pig in a liberal world. Materialism and beauty opposed to actually getting to know a woman. The woman becomes a ghost, no longer a human, treated as a thing.
The next segment deals with a female ghost, who may have been the same one in the first segment haunting another man who is about to die in battle, cold, seeking warmth. She comforts him and gives him life from some sort of motherly-wifely mix but threatens to kill him if he mistreats a woman.
The third segment deals with a blind woman, and the men who mistreat her.
Feminine man. Multicolored Samurai. The shadows and editing effects making him look like a ghost. I debate it would’ve looked better if they had done a simpler less elaborate set up using only the shadows.
Water, mirrors, reflection and light are a key aspect of the film. The symbol of ghosts is represented through the cup of water, possibly also a reference to the ink of a pen.
There's a lot of good production valuie. A great wood red painting.
“I can imagine several possible endings. But none of them would satisfy your imagination. I would rather you decide for yourself.”
It’s quite a beautiful movie, with some of the most innovative writing and direction. It deserved the Palme D’or.
