Ugetsu may be the greatest film that also stars a potter, and it’s now available for free (with ads every 10 minutes or so) on YouTube or it can be rented at a variety of sites.
Made in 1953, it’s a ghost story about a 16th-century Japanese potter who leaves his kiln and village during a turbulent period of war. Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, this magical story alternates between reality and a dream world and brings up questions of family, attachments, and how to live one’s life.
The film includes wonderful shots of the potter throwing pots with his wife, glazing, loading and firing a wood kiln, and selling his wares. Having a potter in a main role is of interest, although in the story the character could have been any sort of profession, such as a farmer or small-town craftsman.
In a 2012 essay for Studio Potter, Sarah Archer points out that in Western movies and television, potters are often played for laughs (i.e. Ghost) but in Ugestu, “Ceramics occupies a role in this film that another sort of old-fashioned profession like farming could credibly occupy in an American movie. Ceramics is not played for laughs or meant to indicate that the character is artsy or flaky or experiencing a midlife crisis; he’s just a rural, pre-industrial man who makes and sells pots.”
Potter or not, Ugetsu is a beautiful, thoughtful film that’s worth a watch.
Watch Ugetsu (with ads) on Youtube:
