KANETO SHINDO’S ONIBABA
I am not such a student of film that I can explain why it is that the postwar period of film-making in Japan proved to be one of its most fruitful. Besides the astonishing samurai movies that came from that period there were also the touching and often tragic human drama films and the atmospheric horror films as well (and not only the great monster ones from Toho). Onibaba is sometimes classified as a horror film but if it is it is in the sense that Hitchcock made horror films as well, but it was the horror of the human mind and soul rather than ghosts and demons the characters have to deal with. Filmed in 1964 by Kaneto Shindo this film is unnerving and suspenseful with out ever being too graphic. The tone is set by incredible b/w cinematography, edgy music and excellent acting. The mood is claustrophobic as the action occurs mostly inside a large field of tall grass and reeds that is constantly undulating and swirling in the breeze and you cannot see beyond where you are at most of the time and you can never know what might be lurking only feet away in the tall grass. The themes are murder, lust, betrayal jealously, fears of death and insanity. How can you go wrong with this one?
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