Onibaba
7.7/10
Rating
105 min
Runtime
1964
Release Year
Kaneto Shindō
Director
Cast
Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satō, Jūkichi Uno, Taiji Tonoyama
Quick Synopsis
In rural Japan during wartime, a woman and her daughter-in-law live in a swamp, surviving by ambushing and killing samurai who pass through, then selling the valuables they take. When they receive news that the woman's son, Kichi, who is also the husband of the daughter-in-law, has died in the war, both women are deeply affected. Soon after, the daughter-in-law begins a secret relationship with Hachi, a neighbor who has returned from the war. The mother strongly disapproves of this affair and, unable to win Hachi's affection for herself, she attempts to frighten her daughter-in-law by using a frightening mask taken from a dead samurai.
Detailed Synopsis of Onibaba
While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.
