Kaneto SHINDO

Onibaba

鬼婆

Nippon Retro   ² 

During a civil war in medieval Japan, an old woman and her daughter-in-law lure warriors into traps, then kill them and sell their goods to make a living. But soon, the girl’s affair with a neighbor ends the partnership with her mother-in-law, with fatal consequences. Shot in deeply aesthetic black and white, ONIBABA combines grim realism, erotic elements, and subtle horror to tell a parable about the terrors of war.

鬼婆

Japan 1964

103 minutes

Director
Kaneto SHINDO

Script
Kaneto SHINDO

Cinematography
Kiyomi KURODA

About Kaneto SHINDO

Kaneto SHINDO is one of the most distinguished and, at 99, also the oldest living Japanese director and screenwriter. He made 49 feature films and wrote more than 250 screenplays. He is best known to Western audiences for his poetic anti-war films ONIBABA and KURONEKO, which use the stylistic devices of horror films.