Yoru no tsuzumi

A Japanese classic from way back, of special interest to lovers of black and white cinematography. With elegant and dreamlike images, this unpretentious film evokes Japan's forgotten feudal world from the perspective of one wealthy household. As a simple story of an illicit affair (devoid of FX, commercial tie-ins, or anime) cynics may find it a bit melodramatic. But when I saw it as a teenager (in the 70s) it was heady stuff.

Like many older Japanese films, it examines the tug-of-war between rigid social rules and personal desire. Having broken an unyielding taboo, the central characters all pay a terrible price as the romance unfolds. Masayuki Mori is incandescent here, as intelligent and seductive as any male film star you're likely to see.