Sunday, November 26, 2006
This is an absolutely amazing movie and it is a crying shame it has taken me this many years to finally see it. Then again, the wait was worth it because I had the privilege of seeing it on 35mm at The Music Box theater, which in case you haven't checked the list of "Best Movie Theaters" on the right scrollbar of this blog, is one of the finest movie theaters in the country.
Thoughts on the film will be brief because I am completely backlogged with other movies to be covered, but I couldn't sign off without noting how gorgeous the long shots are in the forest sequences. In fact, every shot is calculated so meticulously with different scales of light and dark that they are worth noting. In particular though, when I remember the movie the shots that call to mind are the ones of the children trekking through the forest, vines and leaves strewn in the fore, thick tree
trunks and foliage in the background--all of which comes together with a clean, matte finish over it. And I haven't even mentioned the story itself, which is a heartbreaking tale of a mother separated from her son and daughter, both of whom go to the ends of the earth to find her again, after years of rape, abuse, slavery and torture. I can't wait to watch it again, and afterwards I'm eager to get to The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), too. Kenji Mizoguchi fans and experts, please weigh-in for a list of recommendations and favorites, it will be a greatly appreciated guide.
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