Ugetsu Monogatari

[poliphilo]

There are ghosts. There's a rape. There are several killings- one a beheading. Rampaging soldiers are on the loose, doing what rampaging soldiers do. But it's a very gentle film. The story flows over and past its sensational incidents like water over the pebbles in a stream bed. Mizoguchi's prime mode is compassion. He cares for his characters, he observes them, he keeps his distance.