Review of Kwaidan (1965) by Eric B — 30 Apr 2012

As the title suggests, Masaki Kobayashi's "Kwaidan" is a collection of ghost stories: "The Black Hair" (approximately 35 minutes), "The Woman of the Snow" (41 minutes), "Hoichi the Earless" (71 minutes) and "In a Cup of Tea" (25 minutes).

The film is more than the sum of its parts, because the grand impact of a three-hour epic overshadows individual segments that are long on atmosphere but a bit thin on plot. Really, one could summarize any of the premises in a sentence.

Man dumps loving wife for woman from more prestigious family, has second thoughts and returns to first wife with unexpected results. Man saved from snowstorm death by mysterious woman, draws her wrath after breaking promise not to tell others.

Blind man recruited to sing traditional ballads for a ghost army, has trouble backing out. Man magically sees another man's face in his tea, makes the mistake of wronging him. Simple tales, told with beautiful cinematography and sets.

The film is entirely shot inside a studio -- even battle scenes on a lake -- and Kobayashi has great fun concocting impossible, painterly skies. Most memorably, "Woman of the Snow" even adds giant, ominous eyes hanging in the background.