Kiga kaikyô

If you study Japanese, you will sooner or later read a procedural mystery novel such as the one this film was adapted from, because their narrative is matter-of-fact observation, and the mystery evolves through a sequence of events - perfect to learn the language. Many movies have been based on these but are largely unknown in the West, because these films do not conform to our expectations of police procedural drama.

The violence is toned down, but comes as an element of shock nevertheless, because the film takes a long time to establish its protagonists - a skill Uchida had honed in a career of almost 50 years. While few of his prewar social dramas survive, and most of his postwar samurai epics are glaringly violent and experimental, this three-hour epic completely focuses on characterization, which has a strong immersive effect. The story is hardly noteworthy, which seems to irritate a few reviewers and won't work with everyone. But it's hard not to be enthralled by Sachiko Hidari's pure hearted yet masochistic prostitute, and Rentarô Mikuni's brooding fugitive meandering between innocence and brutality. Comedian Junzaburô Ban completes the trio of leads difficult to forget as the ill investigator haunted by an unsolved case. It also features a rather young Ken Takakura just before his break to stardom with "Abashiri Prison" as a novice cop.

What makes the three hours worth sitting through and makes this Uchida's undisputed masterpiece is the ending. It is not entirely unexpected but the way it is executed is truly unforgettable. Definitely required viewing for those interested in the Japanese psyche and slow, careful character establishment.

Sachiko Hidari ("Yae") is great in this film as the young geisha who shelters "Inukai" (Rentarô Mikuni) from a storm one night. Next morning he leaves her quite a sum of money - one that enables her to change her life, pay her debts - all whilst he disappears. That storm was actually a tornado that sank a local ferry boat. During that investigation, two unknown bodies are identified - and they are soon tied in with a fire that largely destroyed a local village where a robbery had taken place. Where had the money gone? Who killed the men? Many years later, "Yae" spots a photograph in a newspaper that she thinks might be her long lost benefactor and sets out to say thanks - with tragic consequences. It is a long film this, over 3 hours, but the clever - almost internecine - fashion in which the old and new stories are married together; the police investigations and the characterisations are carefully and fully crafted leaves us with quite a complex crime thriller. Now, sadly, what makes the thriller work so well is also what ruined the ending for me. It is flawed in so many ways as to make me want to shout at the screen. It's not that the ending itself is wrong, it is that the police procedures (remembering that there was little science involved in the process) are all just to convenient - far fetched, even. Still, this is a strongly paced, beautifully photographed piece of story-telling cinema that runs parallel narratives well and cohesively.

This film is long, predictable, and boring. There is no suspense, the plot is stale, and the police procedure is completely uninteresting. The acting and cinematography are good, but there are some primitive effects whose strangeness is sort of unsettling as intended, but have mostly a comic effect for modern Western viewers (the sex scene with a fingernail is perhaps the highlight of the film). As in most Japanese movies, the characters are ridiculously awkward at times, but apparently this is how Japanese behave in reality.

While the depiction of post-war Japan was interesting, it wasn't enlightening, and as with German accounts of WWII you get the feeling that what little suffering is depicted is exaggerated.

Fans of Japanese cinema might like this film, but I recommend you watch Pitfall (again) if you are short on time, because Kiga kaikyo won't be adding much to your life.

I agree with the other reviewer who noted that this is a tedious movie.

Perhaps this was something special in japan of the early sixties. That was a time before Japan had come to dominate the automobile inustry and was still mucking around with little bux boxes.

This would be a matching movie for a country in an undeveloped state.

The story is procedural and the acting poor - to western eyes. What on earth reason that group had to all be together on a ferry is laughable.

High And Low - great movie, even today Harakiri - great movie, even today

This? Not so.

A Fugitive from the Past thankfully earns its runtime, even if the plot never gets too crazily complex. It's suitably epic and has enough going on to run for as long as it does, using that extra time to - on at least a couple of occasions - lull you into a false sense of security before gleefully turning the tables on you. It escalated to a point that was genuinely really exciting, only for maybe the second half of its final act to prove a tiny bit underwhelming. I was still invested, but if there's any part of the movie that's a bit less than amazing, I feel like it's the last half-hour (to some extent).

I largely liked this a lot, though. It's solidly written and well-acted, but the way it's shot proves most exciting here. Very clean at times, but then also anxiety-provoking at other times.

Some of the music and certain stuff thematically (keeping it vague) is also surprisingly unsettling. Not quite supernatural or horror-related, but it was definitely a more eerie film than I was expecting.

If the length makes watching this feel daunting, I'd say don't worry about it and jump in, because it didn't feel three hours long to me personally.