Post by Malcadon on Apr 24, 2018 3:04:12 GMT
Belladonna of Sadness is a criminally overlooked Japanese animated film form 1973. While "Japanese animation" generally evokes the tropes and esthetics of conventional "anime", Belladonna of Sadness is vary much a '70s animated art house film. This film, while good, was never released in North America due to it's X-rated status (this is an archaic rating; most "X-rated" films at the time would get a PG-13 or a "soft R" if rated today, but this would definitely get a "hard R") and only became known to western audiences within the past ten-to-fifteen years. This film, while minimalist in animation, uses a lot of beautify crafted and highly colorful visuals. The visuals are a mix of motionless water-color paintings and '70s animation (think Yellow Submarine and Fantastic Planet), with a lot of erotic, violent, and psychedelic imagery. The story is deep and vary poignant.
Belladonna of Sadness plays out like an old medieval fairy tale. The film focuses on a young French woman, Jeanna, who after much hardship, ends up offering her soul to the devil. This was not some "easy route for power", as she did everything that was expected of her (and than some) as a good wife, but was constantly put in her place by a cruel and envious ruler, husband, church, etc. She turned to the devil as he was the only one who ever treated her as a person and gave her greater control over her miserable, hopeless life. With that power she acquired, she became more powerful than any King, church or god, effecting positive change in the world.
MAJOR HEADS-UP: The movie opens with a graphic rape-scene. Due to the nature of how scenes are conveyed in art house films, the visuals make the scene way more intense then in other media.
You can watch the whole thing here. And here is the trailer (it is safe):
ENJOY!!!