I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The story was great. It kept me glued to the screen. I was heartbroken when Etsuko kills the gardener and he dies in a puddle of mud. Her expression after hitting him on the head with a farm tool his remorseless and cruel. When she has the gardener's girlfriend get an abortion I was also dismayed. Why does she force the girlfriend to have an abortion if she doesn't feel anything for the gardener? She is a very cruel woman.
I really liked some of the techniques in this film. The scene where Etsuko and the gardener are talking in the highway is innovatve. It is a horizontal shot that goes back and forth from Etsuko to the gardener. It shows their faces, but doesn't go into an over the shoulder shot, it remains horizontal. This makes the visual more intense. The film was criticized for being too artsy, perhaps for this shot and other aspects of the film. I'm glad the film got made and kept shots like these in the film. I also liked the shots at the beginning of the film showing Etsuko's skin and navel. It really lured me into her sensuality. I came to admire her for her beauty, but ended up hating her because of how she manipulates people of a lower class.
Several of the scenes were intense. They built up intensity very well. The festival where Etsuko digs her nails into the gardener is good. The dinner scene where the drunken son tells everyone off while Beethoven's fifth plays is funny and moves the plot forward. I didn't know how this film was going to end. I thought that the Old Man would kill the gardener. I had a hint that Etsuko might kill him, but I wasn't sure. I thought the film was well written with plenty of good dialogue.
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