A Mulher da Neve

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.

After taking refuge from a deadly blizzard, a sculptor (Akira Ishihama) encounters a beautiful yuki-onna (a demonic 'Snow Woman') who spares his life if he promises never to tell anyone about the encounter. Soon after, Yuki, a lovely young woman (Shiho Fujimura), travelling alone and with no family, appears in his village. The sculptor is captivated by the mysterious women and soon marries her, but not before she catches the lecherous eye of a cruel, dishonorable samurai. This is one of several film versions of the frosty fable, others being 'The Woman of the Snow', one story in Masaki Kobayashi's excellent supernatural anthology 'Kwaidan' (1964), another being 'Snow/Woman' (2000) an awful, bargain-basement 'pinkie', worth watching solely for the cute, and occasionally naked, white-witch. Tokuzo Tanaka's 1968 version is creepily surreal at times, especially the scenes where the otherworldly woman with the golden eyes seems to glide over the snow. Shiho Fujimura makes for an enchanting yokai, the story is engaging, the music good (the film was scored by Akira Ifukube, the composer behind many of Toho's great kaiju themes) and the special effects (the witch's demonic eyes and the preternatural 'freezing') are nicely done. Slow moving and subtle by modern horror-film standards but still an excellent candidate for a midnight viewing with a fine bottle of sake or Japanese whisky to keep you warm when the spectral snow starts to fall.

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")

A wonderful story told so well in this adaptation. It is so much more than a horror story. It is a story of love and compassion but with great sadness. It captures the imagination in a way that the Japanese are true masters at.

I want more of these kind of movies!

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".