ONIBABA had been, for as long as I can remember, one of a select group of art-house horror movies namely Carl Theodor Dreyer's VAMPYR (1932), Georges Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959) and Harry Kumel's DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) among others which I seemed destined never to catch up with in my lifetime. Thankfully, however, albeit all fairly recently, I've succeeded in watching each and every one of them, the latest case being Kaneto Shindo's film just a couple of days ago by way of Criterion's remarkable presentation on DVD.
Seeing one particularly tantalizing still and reading about it in film-reference books since childhood had certainly raised my expectations sky-high. Well, having seen it now, I can safely say that it's an excellent movie: striking cinematography, both evocative and rich in imagery, is counterpointed by an unusual yet highly effective music score; direction and acting are equally superb, and the film easily ranks among the finest Japanese films (one of my favorite exponents in World Cinema) I have ever seen. The film's overpoweringly torrid, even carnal, atmosphere reminded me of Hiroshi Teshigahara's WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964), whereas its supernatural connotations recall Masaki Kobayashi's epic horror compendium KWAIDAN (1964) but also look forward to Shindo's own KURONEKO (1968), an equally stylish (and perhaps even more fanciful) ghost story.
Still, ONIBABA's reputation as a 'horror' film is somewhat misleading: these elements only come into play during the film's last third (in fact, the very few characters and equally minimal dialogue and plot gives rise to a rather slow but never tedious pace), culminating in a truly horrifying final sequence yet they are so classily presented that THIS is what most viewers remember about the film! Even so, I think that the film's frank depiction of both uninhibited sexuality - via the frequent daughter-in-law/neighbor sexual encounters and the striking image of the nude 'mistress' within the sleazy trader's lair - and repressed desire - the memorable scene of the externalization of the mother's frustration (at her daughter-in-law's continuing sexual activity and, with it, the realization of her own fading looks and subsequent rejection by the neighbor) upon a tree trunk is an equally remarkable achievement.
In fact, I was somewhat surprised by the copious (if always tasteful and inoffensive) amount of nudity in the film, though this was certainly required not only by the themes discussed above but also by the film's setting in the sweltering heat of Japanese marshes. From the very first sequence the elliptical and cold-blooded murder of the ravaged warriors, reminiscent of an early one in Akira Kurosawa's THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958) - the mother and daughter-in-law are seen returning to their huts, gobbling up their miserable lunch and expire of fatigue, practically naked, on their bunk-beds as any legitimate bread-winner would do after a hard day at work, indicating that this state of events has been their daily routine for some time now. For an equally impressive look at the reality of the hardships imposed upon those who stayed behind during the period in which the Japanese waged feudal war on each other, one needs only to refer back to Kenji Mizoguchi's sublime UGETSU (1953) - quite simply one of the most beautiful black-and-white films ever made which, coincidentally, just like ONIBABA, may also be regarded as an exquisite ghost story.
If I had to name one slight gripe I had with the film, it would be the exact same one eminent British film critic Leslie Halliwell had had with my favorite Luis Bunuel film, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972): ' makes all its points beautifully and then goes on twenty minutes too long.' I don't concur with his judgment on the Bunuel film but, in ONIBABA's case, the clandestine night-time journeys of the daughter-in-law towards the neighbor's hut do tend to get repetitious, although I must say that the recurring swishing sounds and entrancing images of the reeds being parted by the girl's breathless running is highly effective and, in the director's own view, full of erotic implications. One thing I particularly liked about ONIBABA is the film's ambiguous and slightly inconclusive ending: did the neighbor get killed when he visited the trader's lair?; did the mother fall to her death in the very same pit she used to 'store' her victims?; how would the daughter-in-law be able to survive now that both her accomplices have met their doom?
The DVD extras, especially Shindo's delightful interview, were both illuminating and entertaining. I do hope Criterion proposes such classic Japanese fare more frequently (only Kurosawa seems to be amply represented so far) as one really cannot get enough of them
Seeing one particularly tantalizing still and reading about it in film-reference books since childhood had certainly raised my expectations sky-high. Well, having seen it now, I can safely say that it's an excellent movie: striking cinematography, both evocative and rich in imagery, is counterpointed by an unusual yet highly effective music score; direction and acting are equally superb, and the film easily ranks among the finest Japanese films (one of my favorite exponents in World Cinema) I have ever seen. The film's overpoweringly torrid, even carnal, atmosphere reminded me of Hiroshi Teshigahara's WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964), whereas its supernatural connotations recall Masaki Kobayashi's epic horror compendium KWAIDAN (1964) but also look forward to Shindo's own KURONEKO (1968), an equally stylish (and perhaps even more fanciful) ghost story.
Still, ONIBABA's reputation as a 'horror' film is somewhat misleading: these elements only come into play during the film's last third (in fact, the very few characters and equally minimal dialogue and plot gives rise to a rather slow but never tedious pace), culminating in a truly horrifying final sequence yet they are so classily presented that THIS is what most viewers remember about the film! Even so, I think that the film's frank depiction of both uninhibited sexuality - via the frequent daughter-in-law/neighbor sexual encounters and the striking image of the nude 'mistress' within the sleazy trader's lair - and repressed desire - the memorable scene of the externalization of the mother's frustration (at her daughter-in-law's continuing sexual activity and, with it, the realization of her own fading looks and subsequent rejection by the neighbor) upon a tree trunk is an equally remarkable achievement.
In fact, I was somewhat surprised by the copious (if always tasteful and inoffensive) amount of nudity in the film, though this was certainly required not only by the themes discussed above but also by the film's setting in the sweltering heat of Japanese marshes. From the very first sequence the elliptical and cold-blooded murder of the ravaged warriors, reminiscent of an early one in Akira Kurosawa's THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958) - the mother and daughter-in-law are seen returning to their huts, gobbling up their miserable lunch and expire of fatigue, practically naked, on their bunk-beds as any legitimate bread-winner would do after a hard day at work, indicating that this state of events has been their daily routine for some time now. For an equally impressive look at the reality of the hardships imposed upon those who stayed behind during the period in which the Japanese waged feudal war on each other, one needs only to refer back to Kenji Mizoguchi's sublime UGETSU (1953) - quite simply one of the most beautiful black-and-white films ever made which, coincidentally, just like ONIBABA, may also be regarded as an exquisite ghost story.
If I had to name one slight gripe I had with the film, it would be the exact same one eminent British film critic Leslie Halliwell had had with my favorite Luis Bunuel film, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (1972): ' makes all its points beautifully and then goes on twenty minutes too long.' I don't concur with his judgment on the Bunuel film but, in ONIBABA's case, the clandestine night-time journeys of the daughter-in-law towards the neighbor's hut do tend to get repetitious, although I must say that the recurring swishing sounds and entrancing images of the reeds being parted by the girl's breathless running is highly effective and, in the director's own view, full of erotic implications. One thing I particularly liked about ONIBABA is the film's ambiguous and slightly inconclusive ending: did the neighbor get killed when he visited the trader's lair?; did the mother fall to her death in the very same pit she used to 'store' her victims?; how would the daughter-in-law be able to survive now that both her accomplices have met their doom?
The DVD extras, especially Shindo's delightful interview, were both illuminating and entertaining. I do hope Criterion proposes such classic Japanese fare more frequently (only Kurosawa seems to be amply represented so far) as one really cannot get enough of them