Kwaidan

15 yrs 183 minutes • 1964 • 7.9

Kwaidan is based on Lafcadio Hearn's collection of fairy tales with the same name, which was released in 1903. The word kwaidan is Japanese for ghost story, which reveals the content of director Kobayashi's classic horror anthology. In VLT journalist Erik Jersenius pays a tribute to Kobayashi's work: “In the dreamlike sphere where historical events and pure legends are told in a swarming way, he poetically retells four eerily beautiful ghost stories. He portrays gruesome Japanese fairy tales such as the deadly lovesick and seductive Yuki-Onna, "The Snow Woman", and Rokurokubi, a blood-sucking female demon whose head can leave the body and float freely, but Kobayahsi does not surrender to effect-seeking horror, thoughtfully and meditatively, he explores the mystery of death, the saving and destructive wonders of love.” The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.