Ugetsu

Ugetsu:

- Is a movie
- Is in black and white
- Is Japanese
- Is set during the 1500s
- Was directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, who also made Sansho the Bailiff
- Was released in 1953
- Tells the story of two peasants who strive to make their lives better despite the warnings of their wives
- Is pretty dang harsh
- Doesn't exactly seem to be condemning ambition, but could come off that way
- Probably didn't need to make its two leads look like idiots to tell its story
- Is often pretty effectively harrowing when dealing with the consequences of its characters' actions
- Has a paranormal side to its plot that I wasn't expecting, but fits with the tone of the movie and is effectively executed for the time
- Has a really good scene where the central characters are taking a boat across a foggy lake at night
- Uses an unbelievable plot to tell a very real and gripping human story
- Is a well made, interesting film despite some issues I have with the premise
- Is another in a long line of classic Japanese dramas that I mostly enjoyed and appreciated the skill behind, though I'd hesitate to recommend to anyone who doesn't love that kind of thing
- Isn't very long and is currently streaming on Netflix, so it might be a good way to test the waters if you think you might be interested in old Asian cinema
- Will be the last old movie I write about here out of obligation for a while, because while I'm still enjoying the experience of watching all these classic films I haven't been particularly inspired to blog about them for a long time