This particular flick caught my attention with the box description of
"an old woman and her nubile young daughter lure unwary samurai into a
wheatfield to rob and kill them." Well, there wasn't much luring...most
of the samurais were just unlucky enough to wander into the old woman
and nubile young daughter's home territory...but the movie was still a
superb little find...in a suburban Blockbuster Video, of all places!
This movie, which I found to be faster paced than most Japanese period
pieces, is just DRIPPING with weird psychological overtones. The story
involves an old woman and her daughter-in-law living off the spoils of
wars. Various samurai from countless wars are always stumbling into
these bandits' territory and to be summarily jacked for their armor and
weapons. It's one big happy family until an old comrade of the
daughter's husband returns home and reports that the daughter's husband
is dead. We're never really sure if this man killed the husband or
not...but that issue is soon is overshadowed by the sexual tension of
two women who haven't been with a fella for some time. Eventually, the
nubile young daughter helps herself to this new lover, much to the
jealous rage of her mother-in-law. So the old woman hatches a scheme to
separate these two lovers...but keeping them apart is as difficult as
keeping apart two dogs in...well, you get the idea.
The cinematography of this film is excellent. Each shot is meticulously
and lovingly shot, building the tension and supplying the canine
symbolism. The music is unusual too...it starts off with some hepcat
bebop and then regresses into what I can only guess is theme music for
an oni (Japanese ogre).
I would highly recommend Onibaba for those evenings where everyone
feels a need to be disturbed and entertained at the same time. It also
doesn't hurt that Jotsuki Yoshimuru, who plays the daughter-in-law,
happens to be drop dead gorgeous...in a punk rock sort of way. You'll
see what I mean when you check out this flick.
I doubt you'll find this flick at Blockbuster Video...unless you find
one in the middle of a wheat field.....
