Restored Asian Films

Living in a Buddhist temple famous for its paintings of wild geese, the young disciple Jinen is cruelly bossed around by the lascivious chief priest, who indulges his sexual desires for the hired mistress Satoko (Wakao) under their shared roof. In a mixture of pity and fascination, Satoko seeks out the silent, tortured Jinen and learns of their shared impoverished upbringings, drawing her closer to him. Kawashima’s sharply observed and ironic adaptation of Tsutomu Minakami’s novel is exquisitely shot in widescreen black and white by cinematographer Hiroshi Murai (The Sword of Doom).

“The making of this film was incredibly helpful in figuring out what my goals are to be for my direction. Concurrently, I want to thank Hiroshi Murai behind the camera. That is because Murai made me sorry that I was not a director who saw films from a painterly perspective. He let me realize this.” – Yuzo Kawashima.