Byaku fujin no yoren (1956)

Byaku fujin no yoren: Directed by Shirô Toyoda. With Ryô Ikebe, Shirley Yamaguchi, Kaoru Yachigusa, Kichijirô Ueda. Lavish Japanese-Chinese coproduction based on an ancient Chinese legend about a man who falls in love with a snake goddess in human form.

“This film takes place in China during the ancient Song Dynasty and starts with a young man named u0026quot;Xu Xianu0026quot; (Ryo Ikebe) meeting a young woman named u0026quot;Bai Niangu0026quot; (Shirley Yamaguchi) and her servant u0026quot;Xiao-Qingu0026quot; (Kaoru Yachigusa) on a ferry. Since it is raining Xu Xian offers his umbrella to Bai Niang who promises to return it to him and gives him her address. The next day he goes to see her and after a brief conversation he learns that Bai Niang has become attracted to him. However, even though he also shares this attraction, the fact that she comes from a noble family prevents the romance from going any further. At least, that is what Xu Xian believes. So when he is offered money by Bai Niang for their wedding he accepts it immediately and goes home to make plans. What he doesnu0026#39;t know is that there is much more to Bai Niang than meets the eye and that any relationship with her involves a great deal of risk on his part. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather strange film in that it featured Japanese actors in a Chinese setting. It also took a little while for the story to fully materialize but it became quite fascinating from that point. That said, I found this to be an enjoyable film for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Above average.”