Ugetsu monogatari (1953)

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Matsutarô Kawaguchi (adaptation)
Kyûchi Tsuji (idea)

Release Date:

7 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

In the civil wars of 16th century Japan, two ambitious peasants want to make their fortunes. The potter...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Civil War | 16th Century | Potter | Japan

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Masayuki Mori	...	Genjurô
Machiko Kyô	...	Lady Wakasa
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Miyagi
Eitarô Ozawa	...	To^bei (as Sakae Ozawa)
Ikio Sawamura	...	Genichi
Mitsuko Mito	...	Ohama
Kikue Môri	...	Ukon
Ryosuke Kagawa	...	Village Master
Eigoro Onoe	...	Knight
Saburo Date	...	Vassal
Sugisaku Aoyama	...	Old Priest
Reiko Kongo	...	Old Woman in Brothel
Shozo Nanbu	...	Shinto Priest
Ichirô Amano	...	Boatsman
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Shop Owner

Also Known As:

Tales of Ugetsu (USA) (literal English title)
Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon After the Rain (informal literal English title)
Ugetsu (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG (2008) | UK:X (1962) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Daiei Studios

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aru eiga-kantoku no shogai (1975)

Songs and tales

The movie starts out pretty uncomfortably, two peasants in 16th century Japan who dream of richness and glory so blindly, they can't even hear the pretty straight-forward protests of their loving wives who try to convince them that their happiness is fine at home. When one, a pottery smith, makes a small bundle selling his wares, they decide to make a much larger batch together and become rich.

Forced out of their homes by an approaching war and uncertain where to go, they take their wares to a thriving market place, where the second peasant's ambition to be a samurai divides them and causes all four characters, the two peasants and their wives, to be separated, all fending for themselves amongst the war and various classes differently.

At this point the film reverses itself and instead of being a pretty skin-deep, tragic bud of greed, it blooms into a beautiful and haunting tale of obsession and illusion. The two main stories of the peasants and their wives are opposite only in their imaged realism, where one peasant falls completely under the curse of an enchanting ghost and the other lies and steals his way to fame, only both of them are eventually knocked down from their own hubris and forced to finally awaken to what their wives have said all along.

It's quite exquisite, this movie, with its long takes and its lack of the usual constructs that make up messages of obsession and greed. Once it gets beyond the small, uncomfortable, claustrophobic world of the peasant's home, it becomes audaciously challenging and mysterious, so that the same small home becomes amazingly wonderful and comforting. The very essence of the movie is breathed into the emotions of the audience in very subtle ways, making a very unforgettable cinematic experience.

--PolarisDiB