As a feudal war rages in 14th-century Japan, those left behind are struggling to survive. The wife and the mother of a soldier make their meager living by preying upon hapless samurai who come their way, killing them and selling their armor for food. When a friend of the soldier returns to the women's hut, they learn the fate of their soldier, and are forced to deal with this survivor. Tensions build as the young widow gives in to her loneliness, and the older woman fears abandonment, feels jealousy, and plots revenge.
What I love most about this film is the fact there isn't much dialogue. Much of the movie is represented as a visual imagery. Shindô does a fantastic job capturing these women's desperation and loniness though their actions. Literally I don't believe a line of dialogue is spoken in the first 5 minutes. It was wonderful because the tension was building up, I was wondering who was going to break the ice first. Not only that, but the opening scene with the women and samurai was pretty shocking to me for it's time. In addition, I would somewhat classify this as a horror movie due to the mask. Again, this would be in my Top 10 all-time favorite Japanese movies.
