A village is raided by marauding soldiers. Villagers flee to simply escape with their lives, but two of them hold greater ambitions of riches and battle honor and take great risks to reach them. But will it bring them what they wish for?
Unfortunately, in Ugetsu the two lead male characters are buffoonish and hard to sympathize with as a viewer. If their motivations had of been portrayed more subtly, perhaps the film would have been more relatable. The women in this film --the two wives and the spirit lady--receive less screen time, but are the far more interesting characters!
After having watched ten or so wonderful Jidaigeki films, period films set in samurai-era Japan, I can report that I find those directed by Mizoguchi less compelling than those by Kurosawa, Yamada, and Kobayashi. In comparison, I find Mizoguchi's characters often lack dynamism and the tales are overly didactic.
Unfortunately, in Ugetsu the two lead male characters are buffoonish and hard to sympathize with as a viewer. If their motivations had of been portrayed more subtly, perhaps the film would have been more relatable. The women in this film --the two wives and the spirit lady--receive less screen time, but are the far more interesting characters!
After having watched ten or so wonderful Jidaigeki films, period films set in samurai-era Japan, I can report that I find those directed by Mizoguchi less compelling than those by Kurosawa, Yamada, and Kobayashi. In comparison, I find Mizoguchi's characters often lack dynamism and the tales are overly didactic.