"Chikamatsu Monogatari" , (aka "The
Crucified Lovers"), is one Mizoguchi's lesser known works and yet it is
no less extraordinary for all that. It is, of course, typical of its
director; another tragic tale of corrupted innocence and the terrible
hand fate plays in people's lives, in this case a wrongful accusation of
adultery over a very simple misunderstanding. Shakespeare could have
written this.
It's set in the 17th century and it paints as
relentless a picture of cruelty and hypocrisy as Mizoguchi has given us
and he shoots it almost in semi-darkness, (even the exteriors take place
at night or are shrouded in mist or in shadow), so there is no escape
for its protagonists nor for us; the inevitability of the lovers' fate
is clearly signposted from the beginning.As the couple forced to acknowledge their love for each other by unfolding events Kazuo Hasegawa and Kyoko Kagawa are superb, particularly Kagawa whose performance as the wronged wife is a masterclass in subtlety and tenderness. This is surely one of the key films in all of Japanese cinema.
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