Isa sa aking all-time favorite movies ay itong Ugetsu ni Kenji Mizoguchi, at halos taon-taon kong pinapanood. Hindi kagaya ng ilang nagustuhan kong pelikula na hindi ko na matandaan ang detalye, halos lahat ng kuwento ng Ugetsu ay natatandaan ko pa rin, pero matutuwa pa rin akong panoorin kahit na ganoon.
Ganyan siguro ang magaling na pelikula, hindi nakakasawang panoorin nang paulit-ulit (huwag lang linggo-linggo).
Ang title ng pelikulang ito sa Japanese ay Ugetsu Monogatari (雨月物語 Tales of Moonlight (月) and Rain (雨)), at base sa dalawang kuwento sa loob ng libro ng parehong pangalan ni Ueda Akinari. Ayon sa libro, ang salitang ugetsu ay “a night with misty moon after the rains” at nagpapahiwatig ng kababalaghan. Ang isa pang ibig sabihin ng ugetsu ay gabing hindi makita ang harvest moon dahil sa ulan (traditionally mga August 15, kalagitnaan ng summer sa Japan).
Kahit na malaking parte ng pelikula ay “ghost story,” ang totoong tema ng Ugetsu ay ang paghihirap na dinadanas ng mga karaniwang tao sa panahon ng digmaan at kaguluhang dulot ng mga nasa posisyong ng kapangyarihan.
Ang setting ng kwentong ito ay sa isang maliit na nayon ng Nakanogo, sa hilagang baybayin ng Lake Biwa sa Ōmi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture) noong Sengoku period sa Japan, panahon ng halos walang patid na digmaan sa pagitan ng iba’t-ibang daimyo.
Nisip ko, saan kaya ang eksaktong lugar ng nayong ito, kung mayroon mang lugar na ganito sa Shiga Prefecture?
May na nadiskubre akong blog na may sinasabi tungkol dito (森に暮らすひまじん):
Under the title of “Local Film Festival,” a series of films related to Shiga are being screened at movie theaters in Otsu starting in mid-February. The first of these films is the masterpiece “Ugetsu Monogatari” directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, a master of Japanese cinema. I had been eagerly awaiting the day of the screening, so I went to see it immediately. The film was produced in 1953, and although the film was badly deteriorated, the images were worthy of a masterpiece.
This is the third time I have seen this film. No matter how many times I see it, I never get tired of it. Set in Hohoku during the Warring States period, the film depicts farmers at the mercy of war. This is my hometown, and the scenery on the screen of reeds on lakesides and rice paddies clinging to mountains is the same original landscape in my distant memory.
The film is based on a mysterious book titled “Ugetsu Monogatari” by Akinari Ueda, written in the mid-Edo period (1603-1868). The screenwriter of the movie seems to have rewritten it with Omi as the setting. In one of the lines, the main character, a potter, says, “I will make money and build a warehouse in Nakanogo.” Nakanogo was incorporated into Nagahama City in the municipal merger of Heisei Era, but it used to be one of the villages in Yogo Village. The film begins in this poor village.
Kaya mayroon pala talagang Nakanogo Village na kagaya ng sa pelikula.
Iyan ang isa sa mga gusto ko sa Japan, maraming lugar ang maaring puntahan na mararamdaman mo ang kultura at kasaysayan ng mga taong nakatira doon. Gusto ko sanang mabisita ulit Shiga Prefecture.
Nabisita na namin ang Shiga mga 25 taon na ang nakakalipas, noong nag-drive kami nang mahigit sa 500 kilometro mula Tsukuba, Ibaraki hanggang Kyoto para bisitahin ang isang kaibigan.
Tapos may dumating pang tatlo mula sa Kobe, Hiroshima at Miyazaki sa Kyushu at nag-camping kami sa baybayin ng Lake Biwa (malamang sa Otsu City, kung saan ginanap ang “Local Film Festival” ng blogger sa itaas).
Pero mabalik tayo sa pelikula: isa sa gusto kong scene ay ang pagsayaw ni Lady Wakasa sa harap ni Genjuro (ang dalawang aktor na ito ay bida din sa Rashomon ni Akira Kurosawa), habang kumakanta:
The finest silk
Of choicest hue
May change and fade away
As would my life
Beloved one
If you should prove untrue
Nararamdaman mong nasa lugar ka sa pagitan ng mundo ng mga buhay at patay.
Ugetsu, panalo ng Silver Lion sa Venice Film Festival noong 1953, papanoorin ko ulit siguro sa susunod na taon.
Isa pang blog entry na nakita ko tungkol dito (現代田んぼ生活 辻井農園日記):
This evening, I watched Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu Monogatari (1953). Let’s see, this should have been the second time for me to see Ugetsu Monogatari… but I didn’t recognize most of it when I saw it (laugh).
I immediately searched the blog to see if there was any mention of it here. Hmmm. The search turned up several references to Ugetsu Monogatari and director Kenji Mizoguchi, but nothing about having seen the film, which is the important thing. I guess that means I saw the movie before 2005.
What surprised me when I saw the movie was that the names of Shibata Katsuie and Nobunaga appear in the movie, so the period setting is the Warring States Period, and the movie takes place in the northern part of Shiga Prefecture. Which is to say, in northern Omi Province.
The name “Nakanogo” appears in the movie, so that must be Nakanogo in Yogo Town. The names of places called “Nagahama,” “Onoe,” “Omizo,” and “Kutsuki” also appear. “Omizo” and “Kutsuki” are the names of places in present-day Takashima City.
The filming location was also on the shores of Lake Biwa, wasn’t it? Hmmm, I think I recognize the mountain range across Lake Biwa (laughs). The scenery with the reeds is just like the shores of this lake (laughs). I see.
The lead actor is Masayuki Mori. I also recognized the faces of Kinuyo Tanaka and Machiko Kyo. I really don’t know what Machiko Kyo actually looks like since she is always painted in white (lol).
Actually, Akinari Ueda’s Ugetsu Monogatari is one of my favorites. However, I’ve read Jun Ishikawa’s new interpretation of Ugetsu Monogatari more times than Akinari’s version. There was a time when I was addicted to Jun Ishikawa and read his various works, but I think I like his Ugetsu Monogatari the best. It is easy to understand. Of course, “Lust of the White Serpent” and “The House in the Reeds” are good, but I also love “A Carp That Appeared in My Dream” because it takes place in Lake Biwa.
| Directed by | Kenji Mizoguchi |
| Screenplay by | Matsutarō Kawaguchi Yoshikata Yoda |
| Based on | Ugetsu Monogatari by Ueda Akinari |
| Produced by | Masaichi Nagata |
| Starring | Machiko Kyō Mitsuko Mito Kinuyo Tanaka Masayuki Mori Sakae Ozawa |
| Cinematography | Kazuo Miyagawa |
| Edited by | Mitsuzō Miyata |
| Music by | Fumio Hayasaka |
| Production company | Daiei Film |
| Distributed by | Daiei Film |
| Release date | 26 March 1953 (Japan) |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Kaunting historical background ng aksyon sa Ugetsu: ang panahon ng pelikula ay ang bisperas ng Battle of Shizugatake noong Mayo 1583. Isang sagupaan ito sa Shizugatake, isang lugar sa tabi lang ng mahirap na nayon ng Nakanogo kung saan naglaban sina Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie.
Parehong heneral ito ni Oda Nobunaga, ang tinatawag na “First Great Unifyer of Japan” na nag-harakiri sa isang templo sa Kyoto noong June 1582 pagkatapos siyang trayidorin ng isa pa niyang heneral. Naglalaban sina Toyotomi at Shibata para malaman kung sino ang papalit na pinuno sa pagkamatay ni Oda.
Mga sundalo ni Toyotomi ang nasa Nagahama nang pumunta doon si Genjuro dala ang kanyang pottery para ibenta, at mga tauhan naman ni Shibata ang dumaan sa nayon ng Nakanogo at nagtangay ng mga pagkain at nanghuli ng mga lalaking maaring isama sa labanan.
Ang mga sundalo naman ni Oda ang sumalakay sa Kutsuki Mansion sa Omizo, tirahan ng pamilya ni Lady Wakasa, kung saan wala silang iniwang buhay sa mga nakatira doon.