MOVIE: JAPANESE ARTHOUSE 101: ONIBABA" (1964)

Cross-posted with LA & OC Weirdo Music & Art Forum

Part of the series Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema

Date: Monday, July 28 , 8 pm

Venue: Frida Cinema
305 E 4th St #100, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Phone: (714) 285-9422

Dinner 6:30 TBD

Tickets: $9 https://thefridacinema.org/movies/onibaba/

Trailer here

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 89% positive review

Director: Kaneto Shindō Run Time: 105 min. Release Year: 1964

Language: Japanese

Starring: Jitsuko Yoshimura, Jūkichi Uno, Kei Satō, Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama

Closing out the July portion of our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series is Onibaba, a visceral, hypnotic tale set in Japan’s medieval past, where two women—an older mother and her young daughter-in-law—live in isolation, killing lost samurai and trading their armor for food. But when a mysterious mask enters their world, desire, jealousy, and supernatural terror take root.

Shot in striking black and white, Shindo’s film blurs the lines between eroticism and horror, realism and folklore. Tall reeds sway ominously, the wind howls, and the mask—once worn to intimidate—becomes a symbol of inner torment and karmic consequence. It’s one of the most iconic and unsettling films of Japanese cinema.

Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century! All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles!