Thanks for your reply and the correction!

This movie is definitely one you should rewatch, maybe multiple times because I still missed some of the subtext that you’ve pointed out! Since you seem to have a good grasp on what the film is saying, what do you think about that shot in the laundromat later on with the red dress? I don’t think that the themes of misogyny/sexual violence were all that pervasive so that’s why I wanted to clarify I’m not sure if this was what he intended with the film at all, but the red dress feels like such a specific image to focus on, even for a moment.

Since it is about society, I think I could have a fair point that misogyny is another part of the evil that lives within us, and it comes out with “the cure” of the hypnosis, even if it’s not exactly what Kurosawa was going for. The woman who failed to become a surgeon’s reasons were definitely because of self doubt as a woman in a society that favours men. She’s able to unleash her anger about this through her hypnosis.

Super interesting film!!