Ugetsu 4K 1953 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

The 16th century. There is a civil war in Japan. A poor potter gets a chance to make some money - his pots are selling surprisingly well, and the amazed artisan is clutching unprecedented silver coins in his fist. Earnings cause excitement, which quickly turns into obsession.

Review 4K Movie

Ugetsu, one of the two films by Kenji Mizoguchi that have received the highest international acclaim, is often included in lists of favorite and important films compiled by venerable directors. More and more often, however, it is being talked about as a movie of undoubted artistic value and aesthetic perfection, but, alas and ah, it is increasingly losing its relevance. I will take the liberty to refute this statement.

The heroes of this story are two peasants living in troubled times. The civil war in 16th century Japan is gaining momentum, ruining some and enriching others. The villagers see in this general chaos a chance to change their lives for the better, directing their footsteps to the city, trying to ride their luck. One is gripped by the thirst for quick money, which can be obtained from trade, which has suddenly gained momentum. The other seeks the glory and military exploits that will allow a change in social status. Are these not the realities of today? More than a thousand fortunes were made in the 20th century on military conflicts, and are still being made today. Political and social uncertainty constantly gives chances for someone to climb out of the mud and into the dukes.

Dreaming of exploits, men forget all personal responsibility. While they realize their desires, their wives suffer. The director contrasts men with women. If the first are unable to calculate the consequences of immediate actions and think more and more cranes in the sky, not afraid of destruction, the second initially understand the beauty of having tits in hand, strive for harmony in relationships, peace and tranquility. Is this not the essence of the basic contradictions between the sexes? And they will remain no matter how far mankind goes forward in its development.

Fortune, of course, tosses up tidbits to foolhardy adventurers, enthralling them more and more, and then replaces them with illusions. The unreal is intertwined with reality. Ghosts settle among people and become part of the story and a means of seduction. They are not perceived as something alien. After all, the movie is based on two quaidans by Ueda Akinari, the genius of Japanese “narratives of the extraordinary”. Yes, here delusions take an otherworldly form, but they are delusions to contradict what is real. And how often each of us has to take wishful thinking for reality!....

The core of everything in this movie is the Buddhist idea of karma. And, of course, the heroes will get their share of consequences and punishments. Only the path of suffering will lead each of the peasants to a smooth road. Their life lesson will be paid for by the weakest and wisest-their wives. I think everyone knows firsthand how often mistakes are paid for not by the one who made them, but by their loved ones.

Kenji Mizoguchi unfolds before the viewer an ancient scroll with an honest, a bit simple-minded and worldly fair for all times tale, written in calligraphic movie script. And his special way of shooting, when the camera moves horizontally from one space to another, connecting the magical and everyday without any editing only strengthens the viewer's confidence in the relevance of what he has seen.