A Fugitive from the Past

Perhaps "Kiga kaikyo" (Tomu Uchida, 1963), also known as "Fugitive from the Past" or "Strait of Hunger" (the original japanese title), is the most underrated japanese film in western audience. It's incredible to find that it has only 5 votes on IMDb (including mine).

"Strait of Hunger" is a dark, twisted crime drama, yet remains subtle emotion and social criticism themes inside. The characters are complex and intriguing, and the view angle of 1950s Japanese society is wide and enlightened with an epical story telling. The black and white cinematography is astoundingly fabulous, especially the billowy ocean under the hurricane, which gives the audience indelible impression. Tomu Uchida is one of the greatest film makers (if not the greatest) living in Japan and this film is a timeless masterpiece. It is my all time #1 japanese film and I strongly recommend this to everyone.

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.

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.

Although very different from Tomo Ushida's other late films, with its hand-held cameras, fluid 'noir' cinematography and realistic style, this is one of his unquestioned masterpieces, on a level with any of his post-war work. The acting is superlative - especially from Sachiko Hidari as the cheap and touchingly simple prostitute unexpectedly caught up in somebody else's drama - the narrative is beautifully paced, and the film fully justifies its three hours' length.

Without being one of those Hollywood-style "message" cop-jobs, or anything like Kurosawa's flimsy imitations of same (he is beloved in the States because his films are consciously in their - comparatively limited - transatlantic style) Ushida's film is a compelling thriller, with the inexorable movement of a Greek tragedy such as 'Oedipus'. It is also a deeply absorbing meditation on guilt, retribution, poverty - and most surprisingly, what we might call "the wages of kindness".

This is not some silly procedural for infants, anymore than Sophocles's drama; but it is a great film, for anyone who cares to respect a master of the medium, and gives some thought to what they are watching. (The DVD available from DVDLady is very watchable, taken from an excellent French print, with good English subtitles.)

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.