Yoru no tsuzumi (“Night Drum”)
Directed by Tadashi Imai
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Kaneto Shindô from a play by Monzaemon Chikamatsu
1958/Japan
Shôchiku Eiga
First viewing/Hulu
[box] No adultery is bloodless. — Natalia Ginzburg [/box]
This tragedy recounts several points of view on the conduct of a samurai wife suspected of adultery.
A samurai spends weeks and months at a time on business for his lord. He is finally returning home to his beloved wife. Rumors are flying around that the wife has had an affair with a lowly drumming instructor. The wife denies this and the samurai is the only one who believes her. But the rumors persist and we see events given from the perspective of several different people.
I thought this was pretty good. I especially liked Masayuki Mori as the drumming instructor. It’s a Rashomon-style tale without the lingering doubt.
