Synopsis
Miho and Toshio, putting their children and household at stake, duel for control in their degrading, middle-aged marriage.
The Sting of Death
1990 ‘死の棘’ Directed by Kôhei Oguri
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Alternative Titles
Жало смерти, La espina de la muerte, Shi no toge
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By reshuffling our spatial orientation through careful staging techniques, Oguri is able to expand the scope of this very human sadness with almost every cut. The first scene is exemplary for that. She looks away out of disgust, he looks at her because he cares but than the camera gives us an overview and both of them actually just stare at the wall in front of them, disconnected from each other. A literal nightmare.
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a sad comedy about how we all turn to kids again when things don't go our way.
though idk wheter it was actually supposed to be funny or if it's just me as outsider perceiving this particular manifestation of the signature japanese inability to express emotions and the absurd situations it leads to as funny.
then again older films from anywhere always got the amped theatrics. (edit - i thought this was a 60s film.. nvm that) that mixed with the former, idk, i guess it's just me.
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Since time immemorial the decline of marriage in cinema has always followed a standard rule..Here it goes from melodrama to quirky comedy to apathy. This winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival is strictly for those who adore Japanese cinema just like me. Worth a few more viewings. Plus some stunning sequences of the sky and landscape.
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A friend and I saw Sting of Death recently and were bewildered by it. An ex-soldier in 1955 or so confesses his infidelity to his wife. For two hours, they alternate between robotic interactions drained of inflection (Bresson on Haldol) and histrionic fits of attempted suicide, murder, etc. There is little of psychological depth actually said, and little plot. I did not enjoy the movie and I think the film unsuccessful and unnecessarily opaque. Normally this means I wouldn’t write about it, but since (a) there is almost no English reference to this movie on the web, and (b) I have already written a letter to my friend describing my eventual interpretation of the movie in response to his, I…