Review Tuesday: “Belladonna of Sadness” Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973

  

 

Belladonna of Sadness

Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto

1973 

One woman's psychedelic journey into history.

I was discussing animation styles with a friend recently and she recommended Belladonna of Sadness. 

 

On the night that Jeanne and Jean got married, she is raped by a local noble. To get her revenge Jeanne makes a pact with the devil. 

 

Seems like a simple enough story, but toss in the typical 70s psychedelics and tons of sexual imagery and you get this thing. It's less than an hour and a half, but feels like it's at least 3-4 times longer. I really feel like I needed to be loaded up on some substance to have appreciated it more. As it was, I would call it okay. The animation is not bad considering the shoe-string budget it was made with. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I am not big on gratuitous weirdo animated pr0n or violence aimed at women.