Quote:
Set in early 20th Century Japan, the movie follows the adventures of a young man who wants to get into the movie business — but in a job unique to his country: a dramatic narrator for silent movies known as “Katsubenshi” or just “benshi”. Comedy and action ensue as he becomes entangled with competing movie theaters where the crowds are drawn mostly by the skills of the dramatic interpreters rather than the movies themselves.

9.62GB | 2h 06m | 1920×1036 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/688F6C211C7EA8F/Talking_the_Pictures!_2019_1080p_HDTV_x264_AAC5.1-DoA.mkv

Language:Japanese
Subtitles:None

The post Masayuki Suo – Katsuben! AKA Talking the Pictures (2019) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

KAIDAN-Ghost Story (2007) is a breath of fresh air in the genre of J-horror; the film is a homage to classic romantic ghost stories. The film is directed by Hideo Nakata, the same director responsible for Ringu and Dark Water. Forget cursed objects, haunted technology and long-haired ghosts, the film like Kobayashi’s 1960`s classic “Kwaidan” is a welcome change for those viewers very familiar with modern J-horror such as Ju-On;Ringu and Kairo

Review:
250 years ago, Soetsu, a kindly moneylender is murdered by a samurai named Fukami and his lifeless body disposed of in the Kasanegafuchi (Kasane’s plunge), the pool of water that snakes around and legend has it that those who sink in the water will never surface again. Some 25 years later, in a chance encounter; Fukami’s son, Shinkichi (Kikunosuke Onoe) meets a wealthy and beauteous if older woman named Oshiga (Hitomi Kuroki) who is also the daughter of Soetsu. Shinkichi becomes smitten by Oshiga and she returns his feelings. The two begin to live together but strange things begin to occur. Then one day, after a lover’s quarrel, Oshiga had fallen ill and due to the stress of taking care of his loved one, Shinkichi develops an attraction to a comely young woman named Oshisa. On the night of Oshiga’s demise, she leaves a note for Shinkichi. If you ever re-marry, I will haunt your new wife to the grave….;
Shinkichi has doomed any woman who dares to fall in love with him.

KAIDAN is a well constructed ghost story with some “borrowed” elements from Kwaidan’s Woman of the Snow and Black Hair. The film is about slow-build ups and restrained suspense; and to be honest is quite successful in what it set out to do. The thing I liked about the film is that it doesn’t rely on cheap scares and the film’s script is more a period piece that avoids the usual formulas set with haunted technological devices or objects, and while there is a ghost in this film, the reasons behind the haunting is quite credible. No, if you are looking for images on a mirror, or shadowy figures floating around, then you came to the wrong film. While it does have scenes with minor use of CGI and extreme spooky close-ups, the film feels like an old-fashioned horror film reminiscent of Kwaidan and Onibaba
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The film is structured as a character-driven melodrama with elements of karma and existential fatalism. Shinkichi is viewed as an attractive young man, no wonder so many beauteous women become smitten by him. In his younger days, he also easily becomes attracted to women and the film delves into the ironic fact that Shinkichi should reconsider remarrying as he undoubtedly would bring ruin to any woman who would love him. The film presents the terror of actually falling in love again and all the film’s twists and turns are effective enough to keep me interested. It creates fear and terror in its systematic approach. We get to explore some bits of Japanese folklore and one very effective device this film has is the feeling of dread–you will definitely feel that the film will only get worst before if it EVER does get better;

….KAIDAN is a very effective piece of Japanese horror. It is an old-school type of horror film that will make you absorb its experience and the more familiar you are with ritualistic details from Japan, the better you’ll like it. The film focuses all its energy and momentum in its last 40 minutes and even displays some bloody samurai hacking and slashing. Kaidan is very abundant in context, and nicely presents the balance between redemption, obsession and destruction. The film is evenly paced, it outlasts most Asian Horror films and it never overstays its welcome.

1.64GB | 1:59:47 | 656 x 368 | avi

https://nitro.download/view/8E0ECAB9A3C3EC9/Kaidan.avi

Language:Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Hideo Nakata – Kaidan (2007) first appeared on Cinema of the World.