I am lazy and paste it directly to a short recommendation for a movie friend of a corrupt country after watching it:
... But the biggest surprise of this week was Onibaba (1964). I perhaps would never watch it if a friend hadn't picked it out, because I thought it would just be another very Japanese (and Kwaidan-like) drama about an old female demon as “Oni” means “demon” in Japanese, and “baba” means “an old woman”. But turns out it was just all too human, and the tiny, little, but nonetheless critical, supernatural factor appears in a most unexpected way. To be honest, I enjoyed none of Ozu's films, and very few of Kurosawa's (and definitely bored by Kwaidan and Gate of the Hell), but enjoyed Onibaba literally from the beginning to the end; it kept surprising me, even to the last second... But since the friend who brought it to my attention seemed to have only enjoyed it as, perhaps, 65% as I had, and didn't get some key metaphors and part of the causality,which seemed quite straightforward to me (and I think also to anyone familiar with traditional Chinese/Japanese culture), so I cannot help wondering whether it is mainly due to this cultural barrier that this film is not as popular as those I mentioned above among the western audiences... (and I believe the friend knows much more about Japanese philosophy and supernatural stories than most Brits) Anyway, strongly recommend. And do tell me your thoughts if you watched it someday ;)(and I believe the friend knows much more about Japanese philosophy and supernatural stories than most Brits) Anyway, strongly recommend. And do tell me your thoughts if you watched it someday ;)(and I believe the friend knows much more about Japanese philosophy and supernatural stories than most Brits) Anyway, strongly recommend. And do tell me your thoughts if you watched it someday ;)
Lighting sets, and most of the technical jargon of filmmaking, this amateur will not comment. In short - a must-see...
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