What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
A masterpiece. Naruse may not be a stylist at the same level as the other two members of the great Japanese triumvirate (Mizoguchi and Ozu), but the sense of composition in the luminous widescreen black-and-white here is exquisite. Plus Naruse’s female characters have a lot more resonance for me — struggling to maintain their selfhood and integrity in a society whose structures inevitable oppress them, but learning ultimately to live without those weak, worthless men they are surrounded with. An ending that here, as with most great Naruse films (and unlike his most famous, Floating Clouds), doesn’t play out tragically.
by Ian Johnston | Source: DVD-R
27 Sep 2006 12:59 PM | Submit Comment