Tales of Ugetsu is a movie that is profound in its simplicity. It is a very simple human story of four characters, and what happens when two of them give in to their petty needs and carnal desires. The movie is beautiful and moving, a true "Great Film" that really deserves its reputation.
The film opens in a small Japanese village in the 16th century. Genjuro (Masuyaki Mori) and brother in law Tobei (Sakae Ozawa) are simple farmers who dream of becoming something greater. Genjuro desires to be a wealthy and respected artisan who will make lots of money on his side job of making pottery, while Tobei wishes to become a great Samurai warrior. For a moment, it looks like their dreams might be on the verge of reality as Genjuro's pottery begins to sell well in neighboring towns. Genjuro's wife Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanakawa) is apprecitave of the new money but is concerned about what is happening to her husband, while Tobei's wife Ohama (Mitsuko Mito) is afraid that she will be abandoned in the war due to Tobei's dillusions of grandeur. When the battle finally comes to the village, the four wait to flee until the men can load up their packs with Genjuro's pottery which results in the four being split. What happens next is amazing, but completely believable in the world of the film.
The message of Mizoguchi's film is not so much that we should not dream for a better position in life, but that we should balance such desires with what we already have that's important- a decent house and good family. Genjuro does not want to be a great potter because he wants to be a great craftsman, he wants to be one so he can received wife acclaim, even though the support of his wife and daughter should be enough for him. Likewise, Tobei knows that he's brave inside himself, (albeit somewhat slow mentally) so he shouldn't need to stop protecting his wife to go fight in a blaze of glory to save strangers.
It is strange that in terms of Japanese cinema, Kurosawa is often seen as a "western-style" filmmaker, and for years Mizoguchi was seen as too Japanese for Western audiences. Although this is the first Mizoguchi film that I have seen (and you can bet I am going to see more), this is as accessible as a De Sica film. The story is simple but universal. It is a film for everyone who has everything a person should need, but still isn't happy.
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)