Anma to onna

The director (and writer) Hiroshi Shimizu brings us a gem from 1930s Japanese cinema.

The story is touching, and the motion picture has the rare property of being able to bring you into the world it is depicting; which in this movie's case is a world of mountains, calm old-fashioned Japanese interior settings, as well as calm small rivers and forests.

The effect of this movie upon the attentive viewer is one of calmness, and the way in which the picture immerses us into the world is at times even intense. You will recognize the mentioned intensity in some intimate scenes.

Furthermore, the characters are well-thought-out and appear very real. But somehow the experience seems more true, than if it had been a documentary filming temporary inhabitants of the lodgings...

The music (when it at tasteful intervals plays) is delightful - as is the old-fashioned beauty of the by then only 19-year old heroine, played by Mieko Takamine.

The movements of the camera as well as knowing when to keep the camera in place are noticeable, and are typical of the virtuosity of early Japanese cinema styles; leaving behind unforgettable images of a woman holding an umbrella with a downcast glance into a river, raindrops onto water and a horse carriage rolling down a rickety path away from the place where the story unfolds...