Kwaidan

Kwaidan – (1964) - Masaki Kobayashi

Beautiful, endearing and creepy

I remember as a small boy my mother always telling me about Kwaidan and how it had an effect on her. It was never shown on TV when I was young so I watched it at the National Film Theatre in London at the age of 16. I was not disappointed.

Kwaidan is a tale of four separate ghost stories; 'Black Hair': About a samurai who divorces his true love to marry for money, but when things go wrong he returns to his old wife, only to discover something is not as it should be. 'The Woman in the Snow': A woodcutter stranded in a snowstorm, meets an icy spirit who saves his life on the condition that he never tells anyone about her. He later forgets his promise. 'Hoichi the Earless': A talented blind musician is commanded to perform for a ghostly imperial court in the monastery he resides in. The ghosts are draining away his life, and the monks set out to protect him by writing a holy mantra over his body to make him invisible to the ghosts. But something goes awry. 'In a Cup of Tea': a writer tells the story of a man who keeps seeing a mysterious face reflected in his cup of tea.

The scenes are beautifully set-up and obviously influenced Takeshi Kitano (see Dolls).

The colours and ethereal mood created by the director Masaki Kobayashi, who is a director I emlore you to study, draw you into another world. Kwaidan is a long film but engrossing. I suggest that it will become one of your favourite films, particularly if you are fond of Japanese cinema.