Slideshow
DEMON POND 夜叉ヶ池
Japan, 1979
Directed by Masahiro Shinoda
Based on the play by Kyoka Izumi
With Tsutomu Yamazaki, Go Kato, Tamasaburo Bando
Approx. 123 min. DCP restoration.
A man (Tsutomu Yamazaki) wanders from the countryside and encounters an abandoned doll on his way to an isolated mountain village in Fukui. Legend there has it that a dragon spirit will emerge from the lake unless the nearby bell is rung three times. Shinoda’s fusion of traditional folklore and romance reaches its apex in DEMON POND with the support of Kiyoshi Awazu’s radical art direction and Isao Tomita’s moody electronic score.
Reviews
“A triumph of style. It is also a compelling lesson in the power of superstition and mythology.”
– Bruce McCabe, Boston Globe