Introduction
A civil war in Japan is depicted in Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu, which combines social realism and fantastical elements. Women’s destinies throughout the conflict are explored in the director’s epic narrative, which combines mundane humanity with ghostly manifestations. Wives fall prey to their husbands’ aspirations and the brutality of men, and their spirits are left behind, plagued, and unable to sleep.
Mizoguchi’s utilization of these Japanese art styles in his aesthetic defines his polished approach and visual beauty. However, via a lyrical interpretation of a fundamental societal critique, his obsessions overlay his work. Ugetsu bemoans the hardship that people, especially women, go through during wartime due to sociopolitical oppression and cultural institutions. Therefore, this essay describes Ugetsu – By Boat in the Moonlight and explains its meaning through theme, both symbolically and literally.
Scene Description
In the clip, Ohama is lamenting as their little boat travels through the thick fog of the lake. While Ohama is poling the boat, they notice another boat coming into the surrounding mist that appears to be empty. The familiar scream of terror is, “It’s a boat ghost!”.
The only guy in the boat is on the edge of passing away, but it is not a ghost. He asks for water even though he is rowing in a freshwater lake. He can survive long enough to inform Genjuro and company about his attack, robbery, and beating at the hands of pirates prowling the lake.
He further warns the two families of the pirates on the lake, who also commit rape and murder. Genjuro chooses to drive their boat to shore and leave Miyagi and their kid there so they may return to their own house in the face of this threat. He advises her to stay off the main road when turning around to avoid the approaching savage troops.
Cinematic Techniques
In this heartbreaking story, Mizoguchi employs poetry to depict the transience of human life. Mizoguchi’s camera focuses on the quiet of a natural scene or the passage of a moment, rather than on the intricacies of the story, much like a classic Chinese scroll painting that shows developing human drama amidst an overpowering landscape. Individuals appear to have little consequence since they live, work, love, and die within a greater, unchanging order.
Consequently, performance, lighting, language, and special effects may all be influenced by how we view and accept what is natural in culture and real life. One good example is the historic scene fro Ugetsu. The lighting makes the expressionism dark and dismal. It seemed astonishingly lifelike at the time, but given the state of technology and what we now consider natural, it would be called artificial now.
By holding the camera well back, avoiding close-ups, and connecting the actors to their surroundings, Mizoguchi established his characteristic one-shot, the one-scene approach of long-duration takes, which produced mesmerizing tension and psychological complexity. Mizoguchi used the camera to tilt at a lower angle to convey the intensity and surroundings at Lake Biwa in the scene “By Boat in the Moonlight.”
Consequently, the camera was set to a black-and-white mode. The film implies that it was shot in the early centuries when the colored camera had not been invented. It depicts the atrocities and the happenings in the Japanese communities where men often abandoned their roles, and women would instead do all the work.
The fog sets the mood for the entire scene. With the camera positioning and low angle, the audience can see another canoe approaching, creating suspense. A crucial choice is made as a result of their uncertainty about the arduous journey that lies ahead, which is reflected in the haze all around them: Genjuro, Tobei, and Ohama will proceed, while Miyagi and her son will be dropped off at the shore, where they will go home and wait for the others to return. Further, empathy is instilled when the boat, assumed to be ferrying a ghost, is seen as having a living person who dies after warning the couple of the Lake Biwa piracy.
Themes
As a ghost story, the movie examines a relationship between a spirit and a living person who defies nature and kills the latter. The film has a running theme of mysticism and ghosts, but the scene with the boat is where they are best visible. Mizoguchi uses a background representing a disconnection from reality to allude to the peculiar death of the surroundings (Criterion Collection, 2012). The scene in the episode “By Boat by Moonlight” where the main protagonists cross Lake Biwa is significant in light of the fog. The story’s level of realism works nicely with the abundance of ghosts and fantastical elements.
Additionally, the scenario demonstrates how the conflict has wreaked havoc on society. Couples leaving one country for another will inevitably experience the agony of war. They are informed of the presence of pirates who beat, rape, and steal the belongings of individuals who attempt to cross the lake while they are deep inside it.
Genjuro leaves his wife and child behind and heads back to the beach while Tobei and Ohama continue their business. In unity, there are two brothers, one driven by greed and the other by envy. They jeopardized their families and lives to pursue their interests while roving armies pillaged the countryside. The characters see a dying traveler in a boat on a foggy lake, setting up the topic of people’s mortality, melancholy, and unawareness of their existence. The brothers act foolishly and pettily despite his advice to prepare for death in this gray area.
Symbolism
The dialogue between the couple and the pirate-attacked guy was utilized as a metaphor to illustrate Confucianism in this scenario. Confucianism gave honest government, stability, and order top priority. As a result, Confucianism’s principles helped Japan retain its tranquil environment and high societal stability.
Additionally, Ohama is seen on the video holding the boat as the guys who should be rowing sit and chatter. Our metaphor illustrates how the males in this society have abandoned their wives to do all the labor while the guys enjoy themselves. Men ignored their social standing and immersed themselves in greed and jealousy while neglecting their families.
Literary
A literary goal has been met throughout the scene’s storyline. The scene’s most remarkable feat of balancing is how seamlessly it switches between the real and otherworldly by alternating between several painstakingly planned set pieces and a sad one. Mizoguchi flawlessly carries out this achievement, much like in the misty lake picture. The way the edits switch between the potter on the boat, departing, and the youngster walking away creates a moving image of the man bidding goodbye to his wife and son.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one of the most lyrical situations in the film is, without a doubt, the infamous Lake Biwa event, in which the two couples accidentally come across a phantom boat in the fog. Additionally, it sets up the strange elements that follow, which are manipulated to create a breathtakingly frightening mood. The visitors initially thought the deceased sailor on the ship was a ghost, but he tells them to watch out for coming pirates, especially the ladies.
Reference
Criterioncollection. (2012). Ugetsu – By Boat in the Moonlight. [YouTube] Web.