Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no Beradonna) is a 1973 Japanese animated film that stands as a singular, psychedelic masterpiece in the world of cinema. Directed by Eiichi Yamamoto and conceived from the avant-garde spirit of the Osamu Tezuka-founded Mushi Production, this film is far from conventional animation. It tells the harrowing story of Jeanne, a young peasant woman in medieval France whose joyful wedding day ends in tragedy when she is raped by the local lord. Cast out by her village and her husband, she descends into despair before forming a pact with a phantasmagoric, androgynous Devil figure. In exchange for her soul, she gains immense magical and sensual powers, which she uses to ascend in society and ultimately seek vengeance against the patriarchal structures that destroyed her.

The film's visual style is its most defining feature. Eschewing traditional cel animation for most of its runtime, it presents a flowing, hallucinatory slideshow of watercolor paintings, ink sketches, and symbolic imagery that pulsates to a groundbreaking progressive rock score by Masahiko Satoh. The result is less a narrative cartoon and more an immersive, emotional experience—a visual poem exploring trauma, female sexuality, spiritual awakening, and rebellion. The performance, conveyed through narration and evocative imagery, gives Jeanne a profound tragic depth.

Viewers should watch Belladonna of Sadness for its unparalleled artistic ambition and its powerful, proto-feminist core. It is a demanding but rewarding film that has rightly earned its status as a cult classic. It offers a stark, beautiful, and often disturbing vision that challenges the viewer, blending historical oppression with fantastical liberation in a way no other film has before or since. For fans of art house cinema, animation history, and thought-provoking drama, this is an essential and unforgettable watch.