A Tale of Genji

Genji Monogatori (A Tale of Genji) was another copacetic collaboration between Japanese director Kosaburo Yoshimura and screenwriter Kaneto Shindo. Based on a long-popular novel by Murasaki Shikibu, the film stars Kazuo Hasegawa as Genji, the illegitimate offspring of a Japanese potentate. Seemingly irresistible to women, Genji accepts the philosophy of “love ’em and leave ’em” as a matter of course. Only when his heart is broken by Awaji (Machiko Kyo) does Genji realizes how much pain he himself has caused. Visually, the film is a feast, capturing its 8th-century time-frame with pinpoint accuracy.