Kenji Mizoguchi: Ugetsu Monogatari. 1953. (Japan)

Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu Monogatari ( “Tales of the Moon Obscured by Rainclouds“) left me with a peculiar aftertaste. Appreciative yet not. What remained with me strongly though is the ‘atmospherics’ (for the lack of a better expression) of the cinematic effort. ‘Ugetsu’ continues to be a very fine example of mid century Japanese revisiting of traditional cultural material to prop up a morality tale of enduring charm. Look out for Kinuyo Tanaka’s Miyagi, Mitsuko Mito’s Ohama and Mizoguchi’s ‘feminism’.

I Racconti Della Luna Pallida d'Agosto - Ugetsu monogatari Kenji Mizoguchi 1953

 

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Natarajan
Natarajan
12 years ago

A classic as it gets! Great morality tale.

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V Ghent
V Ghent
12 years ago

Takes patience, but quite a treat.

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Sophia N
Sophia N
12 years ago

I love Japanese culture and this is such a great treasure.

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chinu
chinu
12 years ago

what a brave movie from the early years………

thank you sir for posting.

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lipi
lipi
12 years ago

strange trip back in time….ty

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Choy
Choy
12 years ago

I love the way how the men realise their folly and come to their senses.

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Kuyen
Kuyen
12 years ago

Very definitely a world classic and worth seeing at least once,,,,,,,,,,,,,!

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dipak r
dipak r
12 years ago

Nice. It was like watching a play on a stage at times, but nice..

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Madeline C
Madeline C
12 years ago

movies like these are not made anymore..sadly. its such a strong pro woman movie from the 50s

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Chizei
Chizei
12 years ago

I think Ueda Akinari initiated the modern tradition of weird fiction in Japan with his Ugetsu Monogatari, good morality story.

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Danny
Danny
12 years ago

In most reviews this has been described as a Ghost Story, I did not feel so. Yes, the supernatural is there, but it is only used to tell a very natural human story of false ambitions and the grace of womanhood. Liked it.

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showmya
showmya
12 years ago

lovely movie poster. don’t see these around any more….and i am sucker for all things Jap. ;-)

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NK
NK
12 years ago

takes a little while getting used to the acting and dialog style, but quite ok..is boring in bits but.

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Roxy
Roxy
12 years ago

Someone just dug out a gem. Thank you!

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Fiona
Fiona
12 years ago

Just an aside as I am struggling with something… is it “Ugetsu monogatari” or “Ugetsu Monogatari”? I’ve seen the same publication properly capitalize names of English-speaking films but for some reason they don’t do this with foreign films. I’ve seen it done differently in different articles. It’s driving me crazy when I’m doing my own writing. What is the proper way to do it? Anyone?

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