La mujer de nieve

Three years after an adaptation in 1965's KWAIDAN, the classic Japanese ghost story of the yuki-onna (snow woman) gets a feature-length telling. While Tokuzo Tanaka's film might feel a little redundant after the wonderful adaptation of the story in KWAIDAN, KAIDAN YUKI JOROU is still well worth a look for fans of Japanese folk horror.

Extending the tale to eighty minutes doesn't feel like stretching it too thin; the feature-length story gets to focus more time on character development and crafting emotional connections, which helps the climax reach surprisingly emotive heights. You almost forget it's a horror flick in the middle, with the vibe lying somewhere between fantasy and family drama, but these portions don't drag like they could have.

The film is beautifully shot and has some wonderfully memorable visual moments, especially near the end. These '60s Japanese horrors do such a wonderful job creating a spooky atmosphere, which is amplified by the setting and time period. It's like you're seven years old, telling ghost stories around the fire, except you're in rural Japan and wearing a kimono for some reason.

It is rather predictable and features a lot of the missteps of Japanese cinema from this time period (overacting, a tendency towards ham-fisted asides and monologues, etc.), but if you enjoyed the likes of KWAIDAN and ONIBABA, this should tickle your fancy.

In a certain area of Japan there was a legend of a powerful ghost living in the mountains known as the "Snow Woman" who would kill those she happened to come upon. One particularly snowy day a master carpenter and his apprentice were traveling in the forest looking for a tree to make into a statue for their local shrine. They found the tree but that night the Snow Woman appeared and killed the master as he slept. His apprentice, "Yosaku" (Akira Ishiham) witnessed the whole thing as he lay there completely horrified. She then uncharacteristically tells him that she will spare him as long as he never mentions her or what happened that night. He swears and she leaves. Not long afterward, a beautiful woman named, "Yuki" (Shiho Fujimura) shows up in his village. Yosaku falls in love with her and they get married. Anyway, rather than spoil the story for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this was a pretty good ghost story which is very Japanese. As such, those who are able to enjoy films from another culture (with English subtitles) will probably find this movie quite interesting. Others may not. Personally, I thought it was a very good film. I especially liked the makeup and the snowy sets the director (Tokuzô Tanaka) used which enhanced the spooky ambiance and gave the film an artistic touch. An above average movie.

On the Mino Mountains, the master sculptor Shigetomo (Tatsuo Hananuno) and his apprentice Yosaku (Akira Ishihama) find the ideal tree to carve the sculpture of the goddess Kannon for the temple of their village. There is a snow storm and they seek shelter in an abandoned cabin. During the night, the evil Snow Woman freezes Shigetomo and tells to Yosaku that she would not kill him since he is young and handsome. However, she makes him promise that he will keep absolute secret about her, never disclosing to anyone the events of that night. Yosaku was raised by Shigetomo and his wife Soyo (Sachiko Murase) and he is assigned by the village leader to carve the sculpture of Kannon. One rainy day, Yosaku and Soyo meet the gorgeous Yuki (Shiho Fujimura) and she stays with them. When the vile Intendant badly hits Soyo for protecting the local kids, she makes Yuki promise to marry Yosaku before she dies. Five years later, Yosaku and Yuki are happily married with the boy Tarô. However, the couple is harassed by the Intendant and his samurais until one day Yosaku discloses his secret to Yuki and the Snow Woman appears.

"Kaidan yukijorô", a.k.a. "The Snow Woman", is a sad and touching Japanese film based on the horror folklore of an evil female spirit. The film is beautifully shot, with magnificent cinematography and make-up. The special effects are also excellent for a 1968 movie. Shiho Fujimura is extremely beautiful and perfect in the role of a spirit that falls in love with a mortal and learns the meaning of love and compassion. "The Snow Woman" is a must-see heartbreaking film only released in Brazil this year on DVD. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Mulher da Neve" ("The Snow Woman")

A wonderful story told so well in this adaptation. It is so much more than a horror story. It is a story of love and compassion but with great sadness. It captures the imagination in a way that the Japanese are true masters at.

I want more of these kind of movies!

This is essentially the same Snow Witch story as told in the well-known Japanese ghost film anthology, "Kwaidan". Here it is extended out into a 75 minute excursion into the supernatural.

A master sculptor and his apprentice are trapped in a bad snow storm after finding a special tree for carving a statue for the local temple. Finding refuge in an abandoned hut they celebrate their luck n finding the tree but soon they are visited by the Snow Witch who freezes the sculptor to death but takes pity on the apprentice. He must promise to never speak of this or she'll return and kill him. Back in town, the apprentice is promoted and given the task of making the statue. A mysterious beautiful woman arrives during a torrential rain storm and quickly falls in love with the apprentice. Soon she comes under the lustful eye of the evil Baliff who controls the town. And so it goes....

While the painterly method this story is told in Kwaidan is well-known and appreciated, here the story is accomplished with very careful lighting effects and lens filters. In some ways this is a much more beautiful telling of the story. Akira Ikufube provides a familiar yet unique score. Aside from a couple of clumsy spots in the script and the actor playing the apprentice underplays his part, this is an excellent film.