La mujer de nieve

Last year I watched "Kwaidan" from 1964. In Kwaidan there is a short called "The Woman of the Snow" which is also based on the same ghost story as this film.

Coming into this title I somewhat knew what the story would be about. To my surprise I liked this version of the film much better. It was a much more fleshed out story with beautiful sets, awesome natural looking lighting, and great acting.

This film kept me engaged all the way through and had an interesting story line, and dialog until the end. The cinematography was top level and the actress who played the Snow Woman was very beautiful.

I saved this film to watch on a rainy night and the sound and ambience of the rain fit this film just perfect. I loved "The Snow Woman" I can see myself re-watching it more times in the future.

If you're a fan of Japanese culture, classic horror, or ghost stories I strongly recommend "The Snow Woman".

Actually, no. I wouldn't call this a horror movie, but a good drama movie with a paranormal twist in it. Why?

The story is about a Snow woman, a ghost who falls in love with a living man, and this movie is the story about her and the man who are a sculpture-maker.

The story itself is a catching one, i myself ain't intro drama movies but the acting and dialogs, building of the story keeps me interested in what is happening in the movie.

It's good filmed, special effects are also very good and its in its whole a very good movie. But like said, i wouldn't call this a horror movie but a drama movie as first genre, then perhaps some horror elements but i wouldn't place this one under horror.

Having found the perfect tree for their statue of goddess Kannon, master sculptor Shigetomo (Tatsuo Hananuno) and his young apprentice Yosaku (Akira Ishihama) shelter from a snowstorm in an abandoned shack. During the night, the evil snow woman enters the shack and freezes Shigetomo, but takes a fancy to to Yosaku, sparing his life on the condition that he never speaks of their encounter.

With his master dead, Yosaku is assigned the task of carving the statue of Kannon, but must first wait five years for the wood to be ready; during this time, he meets and falls for pretty Yuki (Shiho Fujimura). At the behest of Shigetomo's dying widow, Yuki agrees to marry Yosaku and the couple are blessed with a son, Tarô (Shin'ya Saitô). However, a jealous bailiff wants Yuki for himself, and threatens to have Yosaku arrested on a trumped up charge unless he can pay a fine. When Yuki is able to raise the money, the bailiff tries to rape the woman instead, unaware that she is, in reality, the snow woman.

Sound familiar? That could be because The Woman of the Snow's traditional ghost story was also used for the second tale in the classic 1964 Japanese horror anthology Kwaidan (although it was cut from the American version to reduce the film's 183 minute runtime to a more manageable 125 minutes). This feature length version of the same tale is very similar to the one in Kwaidan... a tragic, poetic, slow-burner with superb cinematography, excellent performances and decent special effects; however, even at just 80 minutes, it feels like it is stretched awfully thin.

If you have your heart set on watching just one film version of the story, I would fast-forward to the second tale in Kwaidan: it does the same job, and you'll save yourself twenty minutes or so.

On the Mino Mountains, the master sculptor Shigetomo (Tatsuo Hananuno) and his apprentice Yosaku (Akira Ishihama) find the ideal tree to carve the sculpture of the goddess Kannon for the temple of their village. There is a snow storm and they seek shelter in an abandoned cabin. During the night, the evil Snow Woman freezes Shigetomo and tells to Yosaku that she would not kill him since he is young and handsome. However, she makes him promise that he will keep absolute secret about her, never disclosing to anyone the events of that night. Yosaku was raised by Shigetomo and his wife Soyo (Sachiko Murase) and he is assigned by the village leader to carve the sculpture of Kannon. One rainy day, Yosaku and Soyo meet the gorgeous Yuki (Shiho Fujimura) and she stays with them. When the vile Intendant badly hits Soyo for protecting the local kids, she makes Yuki promise to marry Yosaku before she dies. Five years later, Yosaku and Yuki are happily married with the boy Tarô. However, the couple is harassed by the Intendant and his samurais until one day Yosaku discloses his secret to Yuki and the Snow Woman appears.

"Kaidan yukijorô", a.k.a. "The Snow Woman", is a sad and touching Japanese film based on the horror folklore of an evil female spirit. The film is beautifully shot, with magnificent cinematography and make-up. The special effects are also excellent for a 1968 movie. Shiho Fujimura is extremely beautiful and perfect in the role of a spirit that falls in love with a mortal and learns the meaning of love and compassion. "The Snow Woman" is a must-see heartbreaking film only released in Brazil this year on DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Mulher da Neve" ("The Snow Woman")

This is essentially the same Snow Witch story as told in the well-known Japanese ghost film anthology, "Kwaidan". Here it is extended out into a 75 minute excursion into the supernatural.

A master sculptor and his apprentice are trapped in a bad snow storm after finding a special tree for carving a statue for the local temple. Finding refuge in an abandoned hut they celebrate their luck n finding the tree but soon they are visited by the Snow Witch who freezes the sculptor to death but takes pity on the apprentice. He must promise to never speak of this or she'll return and kill him. Back in town, the apprentice is promoted and given the task of making the statue. A mysterious beautiful woman arrives during a torrential rain storm and quickly falls in love with the apprentice. Soon she comes under the lustful eye of the evil Baliff who controls the town. And so it goes....

While the painterly method this story is told in Kwaidan is well-known and appreciated, here the story is accomplished with very careful lighting effects and lens filters. In some ways this is a much more beautiful telling of the story. Akira Ikufube provides a familiar yet unique score. Aside from a couple of clumsy spots in the script and the actor playing the apprentice underplays his part, this is an excellent film.