Kiga kaikyo - A grim examination of
criminal life in post-war Japan. One of Tomu Uchida's last films and often
hailed as his greatest, this three-hour allegorical crime drama stands
shoulder-to-shoulder with the masterworks of the 1960's.
Three robbers escape with loot from a heist, but during the
escape, two of them are killed by the other. Their dead bodies wash up on the
shore after a maritime disaster, but they are not listed as passengers. The
surviving robber Inukai is sheltered by a prostitute named Yae, in return he
gives her a large sum of money and she’s able to start a new life.
Many years later Yae sees the man who had given her the money
in a newspaper article. She tries to thank him, but he's now a respectable
citizen, he kills her so that his secret is not known. Finally, as Inukai is
being transported on a ferry back to face charges........
The grainy widescreen cinematography results from Uchida’s
unusual choice to shoot in 16mm and blow up to 35mm. It was voted the third
greatest Japanese film ever made by Kinema Jumpo in 1999.
Director: Tomu Uchida
Stars: Rentaro Mikuni, Sachiko Hidari, Koji Mitsui and Ken
Takakura
1965 - JAPANESE with OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES - 16:9
ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN - B&W - 183 MINUTES
