Review of Onibaba (1964) by Neal R — 10 Dec 2008

Kaneto Shindo's japanese epic about murder and sexuality really reminded me in a lot of way of Jigoku, but way better. Shindo's film allows to be epic but claustrophobic, overtly sexual yet incredibly subtle.

We follow two women, mother and daughter-in-law, as they make their living in war time Japan by killing samurai who wander from battle, stripping them of their possessions, and selling them for food. As the daugher-in-law grows restless, she begins a sexual relationship with a man who returns from war bringing apathy.

That's really all the plot there is. There's a samurai with a demon mask to, but the rest of the dramatic progression in the movie is built off of those basic elements. Shindo fills the time by making the setting of his film a character.

We never leave the endless fields of reed that the two women and their male counterpart inhabit, and as they dance in slow motion and play in the light, they begin to live and breathe and tell their story along with the characters.

They become such an ominous and strange presence that they determine the entire mood of the film, a mood which is already creepily established by the moody and well focused lighting of the film. The craft in Onibaba is absolutely phenomonal, and Shindo really had a grasp on how to set up a film.

Sexuality becomes another big element, and the body is treated delicately, sometimes a glowing beacon of lust, and at other times a worn and tired tool of the spirit. The film limps for the last 1/3 or so up until the finale, and then stumbles to the ground.

As the daughter is repeatedly haunted by a demon in the reeds, the pace of the film becomes tedious, and we long for the swaying of the reeds to return to us in conjunction with the haunting drum heavy soundtrack, for the imagery becomes more vibrant than the story.

The final moments of the film are vicious and uncompromising, striking out a wonderfully appropriate climax to the tension and horror that are built up, but the conclusion to the narrative is a little too ambiguous, and comes off as flimsy instead of indefinite.

But while the narrative hobbles around trying to regain itself, the imagery and beauty of the frames doesn't dissipate, and Onibaba is able to keep its stake as a haunting proverb tale and chilling film.