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Hitomi Kuroki 黒木瞳 prays in Kaidan 怪談 (2007).
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At a glance:
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| Tae Kimura 木村多江 |
Kaidan a.k.a.
怪談 (Japanese literal:
ghost story) denotes a genre of film (maybe like
the Chinese
wuxia or Western grindhouse), the sort that this reviewer understands to be
ghost stories with an old-fashioned style to it. Just as
charmin as the Masaki Kobayashi 1964 movie with the same name
(similar elements too e.g.
The Woman In The Snow),
Kaidan is
all about slow buildups and restrained suspense, as it should be. It's
not about the sudden face in the mirror you have come to spill your
popcorn over in Siamese horror films. Some may see hints of early
Bergman horror here because of the number of intense facial
close-ups that spook you no end. Still, it is not a character study as
much as an old-fashioned ghost story with the requisite themes of
vengeance and karma. Rich
in colour and context, the motivations behind all the characters in are
unambiguous. After a narrator's prologue, young tobacco
seller Shinkichi (Kikunosuke Onoe) finds lonely, rich older woman
Toyoshiga (Hitomi Kuroki,
Tokyo Tower, 2005) and starts a life of mutual need. When this
balance changes, we explore the scary bits of Japanese folklore through
revenge, redemption and destruction. Hell hath no fury like a woman
scorned – that's the best teaser I can think of. However, it
isn't as one dimensional as that.
Kaidan explores existential
fatalism and creates fear through systematic progression. One
particularly interesting plot device is the infliction of cuts; it is
the dread of knowin somethin will get worse before it can get better.
What a delight!
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| Till death do us part? |
Bad news on the doorstep:
It runs a minute short of two hours if you're the sort who's only into quick spooks.
Perennial wonderment:
Why do Asian horror films always have to be about haunted objects? Forget the rings, wigs, grudges et cetera.
Kaidan works on many levels,
offerin a variety of rewards for every type of viewer. It's perhaps
best described as an excellent introduction to classical Japanese period
horror for those in this generation of cinema who only know the
post-modern era made commercially viable by success stories like
Ringu (1998) and such.
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| Kumiko Aso |
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Like most Japanese movies, the more familiar you
are with ritualistic details from that land, the more satisfaction you
will derive from absorbing the whole movie experience. The story traps you in its old world intrigue and unleashes all its fury
in the last half hour, succeedin where many horrors fail in terms of
endurance. It recaptures an audience right after creatin the openings
to risk losin it. What great pacin! Since yakuza actioners will never
make it here, this is your best bet for some samurai
action.
★★★1/2
Bonus material:
Here are some stills from the movie plus a couple of neat photos from the set.
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You must watch this movie.
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