So this is the second Mizoguchi film on the list, and like Ugetsu, it’s an adaptation of a Japanese folk tale set in the feudal period. But unlike that one, this is pretty much a pure tragedy from beginning to end.

The background is that a regional governor is kind to his peasants and refuses to impose punitive taxes on them, so he’s deposed and exiled. His family is travelling to meet him in exile, but along the way, they are accosted and sold separately into slavery. I won’t go more spoilery than that, but suffice to say that very little goes right for anyone for quite a while, and even good events come with edges of tragedy.

The core of the movie is really about holding on to your moral code and fighting injustice when it seems beyond your power to do so, which makes it oddly timely, or possibly timeless.