Die Tragödie der Belladonna (1973)
40KDie Tragödie der Belladonna: Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto. With Tatsuya Nakadai, Katsuyuki Itô, Aiko Nagayama, Shigako Shimegi. An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband’s lives. After she’s eventually banished from her village, the girl makes a pact with the devil to gain magical ability and take revenge.
“When I started the film, I was lured in by its bleak narrative and erotic imagery. If it werenu0026#39;t for the language, Belladonna would be unrecognizable as anime, with its realistic proportions, faded colors, sexual themes, and psychedelic imagery/soundtrack. I quickly emphasized with our leadu0026#39;s suffering, and the allure of Satan himself when all joy and hope is dead.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, while the initial premise was fascinating and sensual, Belladonna lacks the depth to make it a masterpiece. There is no real development. There are no likable characters. Jean doesnu0026#39;t ascend from her demons. Her downfall isnu0026#39;t particularly evocative. Its half emotional torture porn, half stoner fuel.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe animation is also kind of bad. Heck, most of the time, youu0026#39;re only given stills. Some shots are beautiful, but others seem very cheap. Others are nonsensical, immature pieces of graffiti that somehow snuck into an art film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBelladonna seems disjointed between two opposite demographics and isnu0026#39;t good enough for either one. I wish someone could do this story better justice. But it was an interesting movie, especially for its time. Because of a few scenes and overall unique place in animation, Iu0026#39;d recommend it to those who are into more u0026quot;art houseu0026quot; film. I wouldnu0026#39;t to those who want strong character and narrative.”
