One of Kurosawa's least known films; you can see from the credits why
he's considered the most 'western' of Aisian directors and the opening
scene, set in a family court, could come from an American film noir. It
was an extremely topical subject. Made only ten years after the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki it deals with one man's conviction that atomic
or nuclear war could happen at any time and the affect this has, not
just on him and his family, but on the court advisor called
in to help determine the man's sanity. America was making similar films
at the time but coating them in the guise of science fiction or
anti-communist propaganda. Kurosawa's film was based on genuine fear and
real experience and is all the more disquieting for it.
Kurosawa regulars Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura are outstanding
as, respectively, the man convinced he has to get his family as far away
from Japan as possible and the court official who finds the man's fear
contagious while the entire supporting cast are superb. Perhaps it's the
uncomfortable nature of the film's topic that has lead it to being
shunted aside in any consideration of the director's work. Certainly, of
all his contemporary films it is perhaps the most powerful and I think
it's a film begging for reassessment.
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