SILVER

[UGETSU MONOGATARI] [雨月物語]
During the 16th-century civil wars in Japan, an ambitious potter (Masayuki Mori) leaves his wife (Kinuyo Tanaka) to sell his wares in town, only to be seduced by a ghost princess (Machiko Kyō). But when the spell is finally broken, the potter returns to a devastated village. The illusory nature of ambition and desire is reinforced by the superb photography of Kazuo Miyagawa and powerful acting from the star trio. Winner of the Silver Lion at the 1953 Venice Film Festival, and number four on the British Film Institute's 1962 Greatest Films of All Time poll. DIR Kenji Mizoguchi; SCR Matsutarô Kawaguchi, Yoshikata Yoda, from stories by Akinari Ueda; PROD Masaichi Nagata. Japan, 1953, b&w, 96 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

AFI Member passes accepted.