Excerpted from "Films Only for Women: The World of Kenji Mizoguchi". If the soul of the dead appears with hatred, it will be terrifying, and under normal circumstances, anyone who can protect the soul of the living will be gentle. The so-called ghost usually refers to the former, but in Japanese ghost stories, ghosts that can protect families and children often appear. Among them, the best performance is Miyagi, played by Tanaka Kinyo.
Genjuro, who escaped Wakasa's ghost, returned to his home village. It was a desolate home in the dead of night. When Genjurou first entered the house, there was no one there. However, as the camera moved to capture Genjuro entering the house, the hearth that had just appeared accidentally entered the camera's field of vision. It has long been confirmed that there was no one there, but a flame suddenly rose in the furnace, and it turned out that Gong Mu was there. What an incredible scene. However, Genjuro was not surprised, and went to bed as usual, under the gentle care of his wife. Gong Mu is still doing some trivial housework by the pillow for her sleeping husband and son. Her expression was so full of joy and her actions were so serene. The wife, who has become an undead, does not look like an undead at all, and welcomes her husband's return with affection as usual. The night scene was beautifully shot. Kinyo Tanaka's acting skills are superb.
The next morning, when Genjurou woke up, he was stunned to learn from the visiting village chief that Miyagi was dead. The final scene shows Genjuro, Fujibee, and Ahama working at a venue not far from home. Miyagi's narration came from a voice-over. At this time, the audience was watching them like Miyagi, who had become undead. The camera was placed on the elevator and slowly ascended, following the children who ran past the field. Then, Miyagi's tomb is solemnly pushed out in front of the camera, and the children join their hands in prayer in front of the tomb, and the film ends here. This method of shooting the tomb into the painting by moving the camera forward was quite successful, and one was surprised to realize that Miyagi, who was smiling with satisfaction the night before, turned out to be a ghost, and at the same time, the atmosphere was very serious.
That seriousness makes the idea that "the dead still protect their relatives in that world," which forms the basis of Japanese belief, not just an illusory concept but a tangible material existence within reach. No other film has been able to directly portray the reality of Japanese beliefs so clearly. Ueda Akicheng's original work, based on a Chinese novel, is just such a work that has been modified to make it completely Japanese.
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