Kwaidan Reviews

Four short supernatural stories based on the tales of Lafcadio Hearn, an American who settled in Japan in 1890 and eventually became a citizen of that country, comprise KWAIDAN. Directed with an eerie visual sense by Masaki Kobayashi and containing some spectacular art direction by Shigemasa Toda, the stories each involve an encounter with a ghost--in Hearn's tales a supernatural being who appears to be corporeal but is actually one of the dear departed left to wander aimlessly through the real world. "Black Hair" is the tale of a samurai (Rentaro Mikuni) who returns to the wife he deserted years before and, after sleeping with her, discovers her skeletal remains and long black tresses in his bed. "The Woman of the Snow" is a story cut from the original US theatrical version but subsequently restored when the film was released on DVD. A young woodcutter (Tatsuya Nakadai) saved from death by a mysterious snow maiden who swears to kill him should he ever reveal what has occurred. "Hoichi, the Earless" is about a blind musician (Katsuo Nakamura) whose ears are cut off as he sings at the request of a samurai ghost. "In a Cup of Tea" features a guard (Ganemon Nakamura) who sees a samurai's face in his teacup and absorbs the ghost's soul into his body after drinking the tea. A celebration of the marvelous from director Kobayashi, KWAIDAN's haunting poetry is conveyed not only in its beautiful color images, but also through the chilling soundtrack.