a review of 雨月物语

I hoped Ugetsu would prove to be a hidden gem in the likes of Kurosawa’s work. Japanese classics are hit or miss for me, and this one turned out to be a miss. I couldn’t get pulled into the story, because the melodramatic, hysterical stage play style overacting bothered me, the loud voices irritated me, the obtrusive flute music distracted me, I thought the characters were uninteresting, and the slow pace made me yawn. I prefer the cinematic talent of Kurosawa, Kobayashi and Ozu.