The Janus Collection: Onibaba
Co-presented by the Japan American Society of Greater Philadelphia as part of the Cherry Blossom Festival
Onibaba
dir. Kaneto Shindo, Japan, 1964, 35mm, 103 mins, b/w, Japanese w/ English subtitles
Deep within the wind-swept marshes of war-torn medieval Japan, an impoverished mother and her daughter-in-law eke out a lonely, desperate existence. Forced to murder lost samurai and sell their belongings for grain, they dump the corpses down a deep, dark hole and live off of the meager spoils. When a bedraggled neighbor returns from the skirmishes, lust, jealousy, and rage threaten to destroy the trio’s tenuous existence. Driven by primal emotions, dark eroticism, a frenzied score by Hikaru Hayashi, and stunning images both lyrical and macabre, Kaneto Shindo’s chilling folktale is a singular cinematic experience.
