is a 1961 Japanese
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film directed by
Yoshitarō Nomura
was a prolific Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His first accredited film, , was released in 1952; his last, , in 1985. He received several awards during his career, including the Japanese Academy Award for "Best Direc ...
, and co-written by
Shinobu Hashimoto and
Yoji Yamada. It is based on the novel of the same name by
Seichō Matsumoto.
was released in 2009.
Plot
One week into newlywed Teiko Uhara's marriage, her husband, ad agency manager Kenichi, leaves on a short business trip to
Kanazawa
is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Etymology
The name "Kanazaw ...
and doesn't return. With a pair of old photographs she found among his belongings, Teiko travels across Japan to search for him, first with the help of her husband's employer, later on her own. After a series of mysterious deaths, including a reception girl of the agency's Kanazawa branch, who turns out to be Kenichi's common law wife, and Kenichi's alleged suicide, all clues lead to Sachiko Murota, wife of a wealthy business partner of her husband. Teiko confronts Mrs. Murota and blames her for murdering Kenichi and everyone who knew of her past as a prostitute in the
post-war era
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, w ...
. Yet, as Mrs. Murota's confession reveals, the truth is even more complex than that.
Cast
*
Yoshiko Kuga as Teiko Uhara
* Hizuru Takachiho as Sachiko Murota / Emmy
*
Ineko Arima as Hisako Tanuma / Sally
*
Koji Nambara as Kenichi Uhara / Masuzaburo Sone
*
Kō Nishimura
was a Japanese actor.
Known in the Western world, West primarily for supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'' and ''Yojimbo (film), Yojimbo'', Kihachi Okamoto's ''Sword of Doom'', Yoshitaro Nomura's ''Zero Focus ...
as Sōtarō Uhara
*
Yoshi Katō as Gisaku Murota
*
Sadako Sawamura as Sōtarō's wife
*
Takanobu Hozumi as Mr. Honda
Awards
* 1961
Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress (Hizuru Takachiho)
Legacy
Seicho Matsumoto's novel was again adapted in 2009 by
Isshin Inudō with
Ryōko Hirosue as Teiko Uhara.
References
External links
*
*
{{Yoshitaro Nomura
1961 films
1961 crime films
1961 drama films
1960s Japanese films
1960s Japanese-language films
Films based on Japanese novels
Films directed by Yoshitaro Nomura
Films with screenplays by Shinobu Hashimoto
Japanese black-and-white films
Japanese crime films
Japanese drama films
Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa
Films set in Ishikawa Prefecture
Shochiku films
Films based on works by Seichō Matsumoto