Karami-ai

First thing that comes to my mind writing a few words about this movie, is how entertaining it is. I expected to be a very good drama movie, not as great as other movies of Kobayashi but i was sure i was going to like it. THE INHERITANCE is absolutely entertaining, exciting and clever. A fun ride, with unlikeable characters who try to deceive one another. I don't mind movies with unlikeable characters as long as they are interesting. In that respect, this movie is a success because every character is interesting. It was like a Black and White, Japanese, old version of SUCCESSION (the tv series).

So, there is a darkly comedic element here but above all, this is a film noir drama. Easy to follow, great acting, beautiful jazz music, nice twists/turns and a very good ending. A cynical view of the human nature.

In this morally black play for money everyone are wearing fake faces, and I must say, though it is based on a book, it's rare plot is so original that you can never guess where it is going. A wealthy businessman is dying of cancer, and his much younger wife in a loveless union is expecting to get everything, but the man reveals that he in fact has 3 illegitimate children - as investigators attempts to find them and plots are being hatched out from all angles tension grows.

Described as a drama this feels much more like a thriller. Some might have a problem with the lack of essentially any "likeable" and "good" characters (in that case this probably isn't for you), but if you seeing the darkest corners of humanity put on display this might even put a smile on your face. Yes, there is a certain level of dark glee in seeing these treacherous characters put on acts, switch on their game faces and play everyone else for a fool - and the game only becomes more and more exciting as each pawn is placed. Made in the middle of Kobayashi's golden stretch it's a shock that such a strong entry is not more acknowledged. 8.5/10.

The suspense is for finding the answer to "Who's going to grab the inheritance?" Who will succeed? And how? As in a good Agatha Christie novel, we witness a parade of characters that, yes, want the money. And money... changes everything. Intrigue and double-crossing plans, jazz music, femme fatales that start to appear everywhere and a spectacular visual film in high contrast low-key lighting (pure chiaroscuro) within unbalanced frames that take the most of a full 2.40:1 aspect ratio.

Kobayashi is one of the finest directors, perhaps very underrated. A few months later he would shoot "Harakiri". He knew his craft. This is a solid film to enjoy.

A hugely satisfying noirish morality-play, THE INHERITANCE follows the succession proceedings of a nasty industrialist's estate when he's diagnosed with terminal cancer. Locking horns over this potential fortune are: scheming subordinates, his trophy-wife, a femme-fatale of a secretary and a battery of illegitimate heirs. In their quest to secure a bigger slice of the pie, we witness them forming suspicious alliances and ruthlessly resorting to impersonation, fraud, blackmail and even murder. It's so callously cynical in its outlook that a couple's implied incest is broached as "remember when" and then immediately dismissed to concentrate on the central deception. What's refreshing and what further augments the plot's universality is that instead of conveniently blaming the capitalist mentality, Kobayashi indicts human greed (sexual and material) - as the primary cause of moral decay. Though less flamboyant than his sadistic gangster turn in BLACK RIVER - Tatsuya Nakadai plays another ethically unsavory character who's tasked with locating one of his client's unacknowledged daughters. In addition to its themes and characters, the film's noir credentials are further bolstered by a wonderfully moody jazz score and narrative voice-over.

Worked through all of Kobayashi's higher profile movies during 2020, but it'll be nice if his less well-known stuff all turns out to be as good as this.

The story isn't quite as engaging as the narratives displayed in The Human Condition trilogy, Harakiri, or Kwaidan, but it's still interesting for most of its runtime.

I did like the noir feel, especially the jazzy soundtrack and the voiceover, and it's nice to see a female protagonist (who isn't your typical femme fatale) in a noirish movie like this.

It's probably a more minor work in his overall filmography, but yeah, still pretty good.