Anma to onna

Director Shimizu's film is fairly unique, about a group of blind masseurs who go to work at a retreat in the mountains to ply their trade. Once there, one particular one named Toku massages a young woman from Tokyo (her name is never mentioned) who seems to be escaping or hiding something. He is very interested in her, as is a young man who brought his nephew to the retreat. a few things happen, but this film is not about action its about infatuation, trust and loneliness. What I find fascinating about this film is the emphasis on the characters, specifically the blind men. You see how aware they are of their surroundings, how they react to things and how they make their choices. The film is meant to play at a slow pace, so don't expect action. The film is about 66 minutes long, but I was waiting for the next scene to see what happens. Through use of multiple fade outs, you see how the scenes become a new situation in which to focus on. I have seen this director's "Ornamental Hairpin", which is also on the Janus films collection released domestically. I highly recommend it, because this is a director forgotten in the brilliance of Kurasawa, Ozu, Naruse, Mizoguchi, Kinoshita etc. If you like Japanese films from the past, you owe it to yourself to watch Shimizu. I really liked this slow moving but compelling film.