Ugetsu

"I desire nothing but you with me."
Profound in its sadness UGETSU is the heartbreaking story of two dirt poor villagers back in 16th century Japan. Both are married and have wives who love them just the way they are, but both men are blinded to their wives' love by envy. One to be rich the other to be a great warrior. They think that if they attain these goals they will find happiness and their wives will love them more - but that is already impossible.

Both men are granted their wishes but it doesn't bring them happiness. In fact it brings them and their wives more pain and grief then they ever knew existed. In the end they realize the happiness they had to begin with, but is it too late?

Perfect in every way, I consider this not only among the greatest films, but also one of the most important. There is a great lesson to learn here about appreciating the true happiness that might be right in front of you or already inside you.

Criterion: a Mizoguchi box set please.

One of the greatest movies in cinema history.
The first time I saw this movie reminded me of my first time seeing The Passion of Joan of Arc, or Solyaris: like I had found something I had lost. Ugetsu is the story of two couples in 16th century Japan (a brother and sister and their respective spouses) and the misadventures that befall them when they set out from their village to sell pottery in the city. A hauntingly beautiful meditation on the private but universal struggle between love and greed, Ugetsu, which translates (it says here) as "Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon After the Rain," feels exactly like you'd expect film with that title to feel: it has the visual texture and depth of Dreyer's greatest films and the comfortable sadness of Ozu's masterpieces. Truly one of the most rewarding moviegoing experiences of my life.

What are the Important Things in Life?
Despite some disturbing scenes and issues, this is a beautiful movie. It tells the story of how the search for money and glory can destroy true happiness. What makes the story work is a lot of different things. First of all, the acting is very good. Watching in in subtitles (there wasn't any other option) helped with appreciating this facet of the movie. The scenery and costumes were pretty good as well. The directing was what was the most outstanding. I confess that I have a problem with most modern movies in that they show a heavy dependance on modern technology and declining moral standards. This enables modern films to utilize two avenues of showing more and more which leaves less and less to the imagination. The talent on display in "Ugetsu" shows how directing at its' best was a true art form; greater, often, than the acting itself. There are several scenes that come to mind. As soldiers rape and pillage, there comes a scene of a gang rape of a woman...

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