"That's a nice-a donut."

Thursday, June 30, 2005


Kwaidan

Kwaidan is a classic Japanese anthology from director Masaki Kobayashi of four short horror/suspense stories. From the very beginning, strange ink formations fill the screen over the opening credits, portending the supernatural element. The four parts vary in quality to some extent, and each has a surprise ending.

The first tale, The Black Hair, is a sobering story of a selfish man who leaves his wife in poverty to pursue an opportunity for a better life in a post. He marries the daughter of a much more noble family in "the thoughtlessness of youth and the experience of desire", the narrator comments. Soon the man realizes that he still loves his first wife and longs for his old way of life. She was much more loving and less selfish, and he especially liked her beautiful, luscious black hair. He regretted what he did and begins to hate himself for it. Eventually he returns to his old town to look for the woman he still loves, to make amends. Soon he gets a horrifying surprise.

The second tale, The Woman of the Snow, is a seemingly innocuous story that begins with an old man and his young apprentice who go to a nearby forest everyday (to get wood to sell). One day they get trapped in a bad snowstorm on their way home and the young man awakens after being knocked out. He is surrounded by mysterious symbols lit up in the dark sky and wonders over to a hut, where he finds the old man apparently dead (frozen and "as if his blood were all gone") and an enchanting woman who appears and says that she will kill him if he ever tells anyone about this night. Time passes and the young man has married a nice wife and has three children. Everyone is very happy, and the other villagers consider the wife to be a wonder and remark that she looks as if she hasn't aged. Eventually, a dark realization comes over the man and he forgets his vow of silence about the fateful night in the snow.

The third (and longest) part is Hoichi, the Earless. This mystical segment begins a long time ago, as the Genji and Heiti clans fought a great sea battle. There are burning ships and death all around, and ever since then the sea and the shores have seemed to be haunted. Back in the present, we meet a blind man named Hoichi at a religious temple. He is visited one day by a warrior who asks him to tell the story of the legendary sea battle to a group of warriors and noblemen. He performs for them, mostly with singing and his biwa, a string instrument. What he didn't realize is that he was being used to satisfy the needs of the undead and may be in grave danger.

The fourth tale, In a Cup of Tea, we learn one story of why some written works are never finished. A nobleman looks into his cup of tea before taking a sip and is astonished to see the reflection of another, younger man's face in the tea. This of course freaks him out so he dumps it and refills his cup. This happens again, but he finally drinks it on the third cup. Soon after this, a mysterious intruder is seen lurking around the castle. The man who drank the tea has become paranoid, suspicious, and leery and begins to go crazy...

Kwaidan is slow moving at times, especially during the third act that drags along some. Some of the plotlines can be a little confusing at times too, though I imagine that part might have to do with cultural differences in Japan. But the stories are all very intriguing and the payoffs are generally quite good. The common thread of the supernatural runs throughout the movie. Even the seemingly normal seems mysterious in this world. See, sometimes what is there isn't really there and sometimes what isn't there really is. And sometimes everything is exactly as it seems, even when it seems that it's not. Got that?

Things are helped along, in part, by an unusual choice of backgrounds for many of the scenes. The skies are obviously fake in some parts, with some still portraits and props similar to those that might be used in live theater. The backgrounds make it feel as if the stories clearly come from someone's imagination and are sometimes dreamlike in their abstractness. The acting is very solid across the board. My favorite of the four parts is The Woman of the Snow. All-in-all, Kwaidan is very rewarding film if you devote yourself to it and stick with it.

The Verdict: B+.

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