The Book of the Dead (2005)

aka: Shisha no sho / The Book of a Dead Person

As a man is executed for an unnamed crime he catches sight of a woman in the crowd; that single glimpse keeps his soul attached to the world and years later he returns to search for her.
A stop-motion treasure set in eighth Century Japan. Visually it’s a thing of beauty, like a watercolour painting come to life. Structurally it’s full of Eastern metaphor, but having been educated in the West meant most of it went clear over my head.  Nevertheless, it's a hugely enjoyable combination of love story, ghost story and Buddhist parable.

3½ ghostly white nipples out of 5