Καgεrοzα (1981)

The second of director Seijun Suzuki's wildly daring and much-acclaimed Taisho Trilogy, KAGERO-ZA, like its predecessor ZIGEUNERWEISEN, is set in Tokyo in the early 1920s. The haunting, episodic narrative follows a playwright and his growing obsession with a beautiful woman who floats in and out of his life. He first encounters her when she asks for his company on her way to the hospital, as she is afraid of the Chinese Lantern Plant vendor--the plant is said to contain female souls. He refuses, but his desire for the woman gradually overpowers him, so that by the time he realizes she is luring him to his demise, it is too late to stop her. The inner workings of the human psyche are featured in this study of relationships between different leading characters. The action weaves around playwright Matsuzaki (Yusaku Matsuda) -- who is sleeping with Shinako (Michio Okusu), a married woman -- and his other "lover," Ine (Eriko Kasuda), a fairly corporeal spirit. The film is set in 1926, when cinema was silent -- and that era is evoked in Kagero-za. Director: Seijun Suzuki Producer: Genjiro Arato Screenwriter: Yozo Tanaka Short Story Author: Kyoka Izumi Cinematography: Kazue Nagatsuka Cast: Yusaku Matsuda, Michiyo Ookusu, Mariko Kaga, Katsuo Nakamura, Yoshio Harada, Eriko Kusuda, Ryutaro Otomo, Emiko Azuma, Hideko Okiyama