MovieChat Forums > Kaidan (1965) Discussion > Delightful storytelling!

Delightful storytelling!

posted 18 years ago by yossarian100
5 replies | jump to latest

One thing I really enjoy about Japanese storytelling is they certainly don't rush anything. They take as much time as they need to tell each story so that it's both rich and satisfying and easily understood. The staging is wonderful, too, and the sets and artwork add much to the production. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy popcorn blockbusters as much as the next person, but something like this delivers a magnificent change of pace. Like my dad used to say, "Chew your food slowly. Chew good food even more slowly."

Writing about movies is like dancing about architecture

[–] mac_alain 18 years ago

The "slowness" gives one an opportunity to fully appreciate the visuals of this spectacular film.

Fantastic, sparse score by Takemitsu Toru too, precisely underlining the (non-) action.

10/10

[–] pizza_cheese 17 years ago

The slowness and the score are what make this film so creepily beautiful. So unforgettable.

[–] STEVE-1559 17 years ago

Actually, the slowness just makes the film slow.

If an American movie were made like this, it would be blasted for being all style and no substance.

For some reason, if it's in a foreign language with subtitles, that makes it art.

I say this as someone who does appreciate foreign films, art house films, horror films, etc. KWAIDAN is way over-rated. Not bad, but not the masterpiece that some would have us believe. I'd watch UGETSU or ONIBABA a dozen times before I'd sit through this again.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/kwaidan1964.html

[–] MovieMan0283part2 17 years ago

I am notorious for eating my food too fast, so perhaps it makes sense that I was sometimes restless in this movie. But I'd also have to agree with the above poster who prefers Ugetsu...for me, the first episode was weakened by comparison. It was so formalized (albeit often very beautiful in a slightly cold way) that I didn't feel as attached to the situation or moved as I did after the man's night back with his wife in the Mizoguchi film. Of course, Kobayashi is going for a very different effect than Mizoguchi; I guess in the end, poetry moves me more than myth, for whatever reason. But that's personal and I admired the film a great deal and am glad I saw it (particularly for the second episode).

[–] christomacin 17 years ago

Once Upon A Time in The West, Once Upon a Time In America, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Kwaidan made slowness an asset like few films have ever done. In the case of Kwaidan, the aim was to create an unnerving dream/nightmare quality. The set design, make up, and music would have come across as ridiculous if the film had moved at a more "respectable" pace. Dreams and nightmares have nothing to do with convention or respectability. The effect is what counts. It succedes brilliantly, I think. The only tale I thought might have pushed it a little too far is the first one, although even that is brilliant by the standards of most normal films. This is an utterly remarkable film from a decade full of utterly remarkable films.