Thursday 11.12
at 20:30
Ugetsu (’Tales of Moonlight and Rain’ or ‘Tales Of The Pale And Silvery Moon After The Rain’) is a 1953 film by Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi. The film, set in Medieval Japan, stars Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō, and is inspired by short stories by Ueda Akinari and Guy de Maupassant. It is Mizoguchi’s most celebrated film, regarded by critics as a masterwork of Japanese cinema.
In the civil wars of 16th century Japan, two ambitious peasants want
to make their fortunes. The potter Genjuro intends to sell his wares
for vast profits in the local city, while his brother-in-law Tobei
wishes to become a samurai. Their village is sacked by the marauding
armies, but Genjuro’s kiln miraculously survives, and they and their
wives head for the city. However, Genjuro soon sends his wife Miyagi
back home, promising to return to her soon, and Tobei, in his keenness
to follow the samurai, abandons his wife Ohama. Meanwhile, a wealthy
noblewoman, the Lady Wakasa, shows an interest in Genjuro’s pots, and
invites him to her mansion.
Japanese with English subtitles | 94 min, Japan, 1953