Woman of the Lake (1966)

女のみづうみ / Onna no mizūmi
Feature Film | Mystery | Japan | Japanese | 1h42m

Dir: Yoshida Kijū | Scr: Ishido Yoshio, Ohno Yasuko, & Yoshida Kijū | Novel: Kawabata Yasunari | Ph: Suzuki Tatsuo | Prod: Kubo Keinosuke | Mus: Ikeno Sei | Ed: Shimizu Sachiko | PD: Hirata Itsuro | Snd: Katō Ichirō | Cast: Okada Mariko, Tsuyuguchi Shigeru, Hayakawa Tamotsu, Natsu Keiko, Ashida Shinsuke

After naked photographs of her get into the hands of a mysterious stranger, a wealthy married woman’s affair with her interior designer lover faces exposure. The two lovers travel to a small coastal town to meet with their potential blackmailer, but neither they nor he seem in any particular hurry to bring things to a head. Indeed, the arrival of both his fiancée and her husband only seems to compound their stagnating situation. Masterful direction, gorgeous photography, discomfiting scoring, and enigmatic plotting combine to headily sensuous yet unashamedly cerebral effect.