... and I know nothing about Japan or Japanese cinema. I just accidentally tuned in to this one close to its beginning at 4AM, expecting to be bored. Instead it discreetly pulled me in by its not so discreet plot and acting.
The synopsis says that it is about a younger man having an affair with an older woman. However, the woman (Seki) does not look to be that much older than the young man, Toyoji. Seki's husband is a rather dull rickshaw driver, and Toyoji's giving Seki the romantic attention that her husband Gisaburo does not. However Gisaburo loves Seki, just in his own understated way. Where things get a little strange is in Toyoji's point of view. First he insists on "shaving" Seki, then he insists that because he has done this Gisaburo will know about the affair and they must therefore murder Gisaburo. Seki, just as passive as her husband, agrees and together they strangle Gisaburo and throw him down an old well. Here's where things get even stranger, from a human nature standpoint - everyone in the community just accepts the fact that Gisaburo left town and does not come back - for three years. The only thing that arouses their suspicion is, after a three year absence, his ghost starts appearing to the townspeople asking for this and that - saying that he wants his pipe, new clothes etc. since he hasn't had any for so long. Odd that dreams arouse their suspicion when the hard evidence of a man you could set your watch by disappearing in thin air does not.
Then Seki starts seeing Ginsburo's ghost. Ginsburo's ghost is corporal though - he can and does pull his rickshaw around, drink, and smoke just as he did in life. The one person the ghost does not appear to is Toyoji, so as Seki slowly starts to emotionally unravel, Toyoji just thinks its guilt and panic eating at her and is not very sympathetic towards her.
Finally there is the brutality of the police that is quite a shock. The detective investigating Ginsburo's disappearance keeps telling the townspeople that he can't arrest anyone without proof, but when he does the accepted protocol of interrogation is to hang the suspect by a tree in public and cane them until they confess. Why bother with an investigation if torture is the next step after an arrest? You could get a confession out of anybody this way.
The whole thing has a very surreal quality, a story with universal themes but some odd behavior I just chalk up either to directorial style or cultural differences or maybe both, and some beautiful shots of the Japanese countryside, which is sometimes easily overlooked in the face of this very strange but engaging tale.
The synopsis says that it is about a younger man having an affair with an older woman. However, the woman (Seki) does not look to be that much older than the young man, Toyoji. Seki's husband is a rather dull rickshaw driver, and Toyoji's giving Seki the romantic attention that her husband Gisaburo does not. However Gisaburo loves Seki, just in his own understated way. Where things get a little strange is in Toyoji's point of view. First he insists on "shaving" Seki, then he insists that because he has done this Gisaburo will know about the affair and they must therefore murder Gisaburo. Seki, just as passive as her husband, agrees and together they strangle Gisaburo and throw him down an old well. Here's where things get even stranger, from a human nature standpoint - everyone in the community just accepts the fact that Gisaburo left town and does not come back - for three years. The only thing that arouses their suspicion is, after a three year absence, his ghost starts appearing to the townspeople asking for this and that - saying that he wants his pipe, new clothes etc. since he hasn't had any for so long. Odd that dreams arouse their suspicion when the hard evidence of a man you could set your watch by disappearing in thin air does not.
Then Seki starts seeing Ginsburo's ghost. Ginsburo's ghost is corporal though - he can and does pull his rickshaw around, drink, and smoke just as he did in life. The one person the ghost does not appear to is Toyoji, so as Seki slowly starts to emotionally unravel, Toyoji just thinks its guilt and panic eating at her and is not very sympathetic towards her.
Finally there is the brutality of the police that is quite a shock. The detective investigating Ginsburo's disappearance keeps telling the townspeople that he can't arrest anyone without proof, but when he does the accepted protocol of interrogation is to hang the suspect by a tree in public and cane them until they confess. Why bother with an investigation if torture is the next step after an arrest? You could get a confession out of anybody this way.
The whole thing has a very surreal quality, a story with universal themes but some odd behavior I just chalk up either to directorial style or cultural differences or maybe both, and some beautiful shots of the Japanese countryside, which is sometimes easily overlooked in the face of this very strange but engaging tale.