Kwaidan
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Year Released: 1964
Rating: 3.0
Now here's a gem that completely and totally took me by surprise: it's long and slow, but once you get into the rhythm of it - and become hypnotized by Kobayashi's sets and direction and pacing (notes on the film indicate he had previous experience as a painter) - you'll start to appreciate it. The look and feel of the film far outweighs most else: the four separate (but intertwined) stories are simple and brief but told slowly and carefully (all of them involve supernatural phenomena). For all you cognitive misers out there: it's Kurosawa (particularly Dersu Uzala) as reinterpreted by Paradjanov. A unique visual treat.
