Film Noir

The movie is absurd, and a thoroughly original take on the morale in Japanese society. The images are beautiful, and the people are as cold as the snow that surrounds them. The take on Melville's "Samoraï" from -67 is obvious, but Kobayashi turns the image around and portrays the killer as the weakest person in the movie - haunted by his demanding wife and the moaning contractor, who is one of the most mysterious characters ever portrayed in a movie.

Director: Masahiro Kobayashi

Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Nene Otsuka, Ken Ogata, Ken Mitsuishi, Sanshō Shinsui, Takashi Yamamoto

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.