Kwaidan (1964)

"A Timeless Classic of Japanese Cinema"

Eureka are releasing a 2K restoration of the full 183 minute cut of Masaki Kobayashi's Japanese ghost story anthology film. 

There's no framework. Instead, four unrelated Lafcadio Hearn short stories form the inspiration for the film. The Black Hair sees a swordsman returns home to find his wife may not be all that she seems, in The Woman of the Snow a woodcutter is saved by a supernatural creature but he has to swear never to tell anyone what has happened. (A contemporary version of this story was used as the final segment in the film version of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE).

Hoichi the Earless is possibly the best known as it's the one stills to illustrate the film tend to be taken from. A blind musician has Buddhist scriptures painted all over his body to protect him from the spirits of the dead. But they forget his ears. Finally there's In a Cup of Tea, in which a ghostly face seen in said beverage leads to a tale the viewer of which is recommended to find his own ending for.

If the horror anthologies of Amicus could be likened to a horror comic (or a Robert Bloch or R Chetwynd-Hayes mini-collection), KWAIDAN is more like walking through a gallery of classic Japanese art, its paintings created with fine brush strokes, attention to the minutest of details, and with the accent very much on subtlety. It's a glorious, beautiful film, featuring large hand-painted backgrounds that emphasise the artificiality of the storytelling technique but never detracting from the delicate stylishness of the endeavour. 

Extras include a talking head piece with critic Kim Newman, a 35 minute video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson and trailers. Also included in the set is a 100 page perfect bound illustrated collectors book featuring reprints of the Lafcadio Hearn stories, an article on the life and career of Masaki Kobayashi and a lengthy interview with the director.

KWAIDAN is out on Blu-ray in a limited edition set of 3000 from Eureka on Monday 27th April 2020

The Mourning Forest (2017)

“Gentle, Artistic Mood Piece About Grief”

Over the last couple of years Eureka have been bringing out some fascinating examples of modern international cinema. Naomi Kawase’s THE MOURNING FOREST is their latest modern release and for anyone whose tastes lean towards the languid, the gentle, and the charming yet profoundly moving, this is well worth tracking down.

Machiko (Machiko Ono) works in an elderly care home where the residents spend their days painting, napping, watching television and above all, waiting to die. One of the residents is Shigeki (Shigeki Uda) who is still mourning the death of his wife 33 years previously. The number is significant according to the director of the care home as apparently she has now reached the stage where ‘she can no longer return to earth’.

Machiko is mourning the death of her dead son. Or rather, she has yet to begin, as she is still stuck in an emotionally numb state that prevents her from even communicating with her husband, himself in the throes of his own grief.

After celebrating Shigeki’s birthday, Machiko (who has formed a charming bond with him) takes the older man out for a drive in the country, but their car breaks down. Machiko goes for help and Shigeki runs off into the nearby forest. When she finds him, he insists on going deeper in and she has no alternative but to follow him. On their journey together they find a resolution for their grief.

By no means a film for everyone - the narrative is slight and there are lengthy sequences where little is happening other than the cultivation of mood - THE MOURNING FOREST is very much a gentle art house piece. The opening shots reminded me of Ingmar Bergman (in colour), the filmic style reminded Mrs Probert of von Trier’s Dogme 95 movement, and the press release quite reasonably compares the movie to the work of Terence Malick. All are entirely valid and will hopefully give you some idea of both the style and the intentions of the film.

Eureka’s Blu-ray has a trailer and still gallery as extras, and two sound options: uncompressed PCM audio (on the Blu-ray) and 5.1 surround. I would suggest the surround as some of the wind effects in the landscape shots sound quite wonderful. 

Naomi Kawase's THE MOURNING FOREST is getting a dual format DFVD & Blu-ray release from Eureka on 21st August 2017