Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of the Rain and the Moon)
£10 / £8 concessions / £7 ICA Members
Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of the Rain and the Moon) is a highly acclaimed masterwork of Japanese cinema. Based on a pair of 18th- century ghost stories by Akinari Ueda, the film progressed Mizoguchi’s introduction to the West, where it was nominated for an Oscar (for Best Costume Design) and won the Venice Film Festival Silver Lion award (for Best Direction).
In 16th century Japan, amidst the pandemonium of civil war, potter Genjuro (Mori Masayuki) and samurai-aspirant Tobei (Ozawa Sakae) set out with their wives in search of wealth and military glory, respectively. Two parallel tales ensue when the men are lured from their wives: Genjuro by the ghostly charm of Lady Wakasa (Kyo Machiko); Tobei by the dream of military glory.
Famed for its meticulously orchestrated long takes and its subtle blending of realistic period reconstruction and lyrical supernaturalism, Ugetsu Monogatari is an intensely poetic tragedy that consistently features on polls of the bestfilms ever made.
Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1953, 94 mins, Japanese with English subtitles, pg cert
Cast: Masayuki Mori, Kinuyo Tanaka