An Actor's Revenge

Yukinojo, a female impersonator in a Kabuki theatre troupe, takes revenge on the three nobles who forced his parents to commit suicide. Maintaining his female role offstage, he pursues his vendetta by playing out a false courtship, and by turning his enemies against each other. A film of phenomenal all-round accomplishment, with daringly stylised visuals. Nothing is more astonishing than the twin performances of Kazuo Hasegawa as both Yukinojo and the thief who befriends him, Yomitaro - especially when you learn that Hasegawa had already played the dual role in Kinugasa's version of the story, made nearly thirty years earlier.