A beleaguered detective, working a homicide case whose crime scene was disturbed by a flood which derived from an earthquake, is haunted by a mysterious lady in red, who might just be a victim he possibly murdered..he can not remember ever doing such a thing, which makes her creepy visits to him even more bewildering.
The film opens with a man drowning a young woman, dressed in red, in a salt-water pot hole leaving her as he drives away. This case evokes distress in Detective Noboru Yoshioka(Kôji Yakusho, with quite an interesting face..it seems like his years of working these cases, among other things the film will eventually reveal, show in not only the face but his demeanor)who the film paints as the possible killer. A button and electrical wire, pointed out by the film in subtle sequences, allow us, at first, to believe he just might've been the one responsible, having selective amnesia in not remembering his involvement. I like how director Kiyoshi Kurosawa toys with me..like a puppet at his command, I was led to and fro. Then, Kurosawa startles me by showing other murders carried out by a killer towards one they possibly care for. The murders start out one way(..a father sticks his troublesome, wayward son with a hypodermic of poison, an adulteress bashes her employer with a hammer)then result with drowning in salt-water. I, at first, felt that the lady in red might've been a manifestation of guilt, but it seems later she might actually motivate others to kill! That's another aspect of this tale that startles me. Along the way, the film always returns to Yoshioka, the catlayst who explores the identity of the lady in red which never fails to return to him, often frightening him with accusations of his murdering her. Who is this woman, really? At first, Yoshioka believes she is the dead woman seen drowned at the opening of the film, but once her murderer is discovered, it still doesn't end. Through some digging, he finds out about a sanitarium which used corporal punishment towards unruly inmates involving heads being soaked in pans of salt-water.
I found it amusing how the film will seem to let Yoshioki off the hook, regarding his possible involvement in a homicide only to bring the lady in red back to torment him. He has done something and this film cleverly shows us what. I will say that one must always keep Yoshioka's love interest Harue(Manami Konishi)in their minds throughout. If you can see, their relationship is missing something. It's distant, cold, empty..something just isn't quite right with this picture. And, another little toy at Kurosawa's disposal is Yoshioka's partner Toru Miyaji(Tsuyoshi Ihari)who suspects him of misconduct. The lady in red is quite a creation of Kurosawa's..she's not far removed from the others we often are accustomed to, but she resembles a corpse, just recently uninhabited rather than some spooky white with black eyeballs lunging from the darkness. Actually, she often appears in corners like those who perish to ash in Kurosawa's "Kairo". Mirrors, flight, a crack in the wall..the lady in red makes her presence known. I like how Kurosawa create's this depressing atmosphere, not unlike "Kairo", where the skies in Tokyo are mostly grey and sad. Kurosawa said in a Q&A session on the DVD I watched that he shot this film in Winter, and the film works, I think, because of that. While I did find it baffling at times, this film sure held me at it's grip and I found it quite challenging. The fate of Miyaji, and Yoshioki's reaction and response to his sins, only add to this film's strange aura.
The film opens with a man drowning a young woman, dressed in red, in a salt-water pot hole leaving her as he drives away. This case evokes distress in Detective Noboru Yoshioka(Kôji Yakusho, with quite an interesting face..it seems like his years of working these cases, among other things the film will eventually reveal, show in not only the face but his demeanor)who the film paints as the possible killer. A button and electrical wire, pointed out by the film in subtle sequences, allow us, at first, to believe he just might've been the one responsible, having selective amnesia in not remembering his involvement. I like how director Kiyoshi Kurosawa toys with me..like a puppet at his command, I was led to and fro. Then, Kurosawa startles me by showing other murders carried out by a killer towards one they possibly care for. The murders start out one way(..a father sticks his troublesome, wayward son with a hypodermic of poison, an adulteress bashes her employer with a hammer)then result with drowning in salt-water. I, at first, felt that the lady in red might've been a manifestation of guilt, but it seems later she might actually motivate others to kill! That's another aspect of this tale that startles me. Along the way, the film always returns to Yoshioka, the catlayst who explores the identity of the lady in red which never fails to return to him, often frightening him with accusations of his murdering her. Who is this woman, really? At first, Yoshioka believes she is the dead woman seen drowned at the opening of the film, but once her murderer is discovered, it still doesn't end. Through some digging, he finds out about a sanitarium which used corporal punishment towards unruly inmates involving heads being soaked in pans of salt-water.
I found it amusing how the film will seem to let Yoshioki off the hook, regarding his possible involvement in a homicide only to bring the lady in red back to torment him. He has done something and this film cleverly shows us what. I will say that one must always keep Yoshioka's love interest Harue(Manami Konishi)in their minds throughout. If you can see, their relationship is missing something. It's distant, cold, empty..something just isn't quite right with this picture. And, another little toy at Kurosawa's disposal is Yoshioka's partner Toru Miyaji(Tsuyoshi Ihari)who suspects him of misconduct. The lady in red is quite a creation of Kurosawa's..she's not far removed from the others we often are accustomed to, but she resembles a corpse, just recently uninhabited rather than some spooky white with black eyeballs lunging from the darkness. Actually, she often appears in corners like those who perish to ash in Kurosawa's "Kairo". Mirrors, flight, a crack in the wall..the lady in red makes her presence known. I like how Kurosawa create's this depressing atmosphere, not unlike "Kairo", where the skies in Tokyo are mostly grey and sad. Kurosawa said in a Q&A session on the DVD I watched that he shot this film in Winter, and the film works, I think, because of that. While I did find it baffling at times, this film sure held me at it's grip and I found it quite challenging. The fate of Miyaji, and Yoshioki's reaction and response to his sins, only add to this film's strange aura.