Directed by the Japanese master Kenji Mizoguchi, A Story from Chikamatsu (also known as The Crucified Lovers) is a visually stunning masterpiece of 17th-century jidai-geki (period drama). Based on a classic puppet play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the film is a haunting indictment of rigid social hierarchies and the cruelty of legalistic morality.