MovieChat Forums > Yabu no naka no kuroneko (1968) Discussion > Visual metaphor

Visual metaphor

posted 16 years ago by PillowRock
6 replies | jump to latest

I watched Kuroneko for the first time last night (on the British DVD). Interesting flick; I enjoyed it.

There was one point where a visual metaphor that I found interesting jumped out at me, but it's not one that I've seen mentioned in any of the online reviews and essays (or in the essay in liner note book).

When the mother is explaining to Gintoki that his wife has chosen to literally go to hell rather than kill him, they sitting / kneeling opposite each other under spotlights that brightly illuminate only a small area. Between them, in the far foreground, outside the lit area so that it is barely noticeable, a single bamboo trunk crosses the frame at angle.

When Gintoki finally realizes what it is his mother is saying to him, and it hits him that he is the cause of his wife's decent into hell, he suddenly stands up. The framing and camera angle are such that when Gintoki does this, that bamboo blocks the audience's view of the front half of his head (but not any of the rest of his body). Visually, Gintoki literally "loses face" at that moment.

Did anybody else interpret that piece of photography that way that I did?

Or spot any other similar moments that I may not have caught?

[–] MoniqueGataDupree 16 years ago

I haven't seen it yet, but I intend to..thank you for what you wrote..
Monique Dupree

[–] Xcalat3 15 years ago

wow good find, I kind of missed that part

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

[–] ishiidobie 11 years ago

Just saw the scene. Seems like a bit of a stretch. Looks more like unintentional camera placement than anything else. Do you also see Jesus on burnt toast and in the clouds?

[–] emncaity 10 years ago

No, but I see as$holes on comment lists all the time who for some reason feel the need to be snarky about an honest observation. Does that count?

[–] emncaity 10 years ago

Hmm. Could be. Might just be accident, but maybe not, considering the fact that the scene would've been viewed several times before a final print, and almost certainly would've been reshot unless somebody just didn't catch it (which strikes me as not all that likely). After seeing a couple of interviews with the director, I wouldn't be surprised if he was going for something like this. He was sharp and, I think it's fair to say, pretty bold.

[–] Satantangoandcash 7 years ago

When the bamboo blocked him out I thought it was a foreshadowing that he was going to disappear as his wife did. Whatever it meant, I can't imagine that the shot was a mistake.

There was another interesting special effect shot when the first samurai visited the house of the ghosts. We see the house on the bottom and on the top we see a shot of some bamboo trunks in the grove moving slowly as if we are walking, creating an eerie supernatural mood.