Flag In The Mist (Yoji Yamada, Japan, 1965)

A poor and desperate young woman named Kiriko (Chieko Baisho) makes a long journey to request help from Otsuko (Osamu Takizawa), a rich, successful lawyer, to defend her brother on a murder charge. But Otsuko brushes her off because she can’t meet his fees and the brother dies in prison. After befriending Otsuko’s mistress Kiriko has her framed on a … Read the rest

Yellow Handkerchief (Yoji Yamada, Japan, 1977)

Jilted teen Kinya (Tetsuya Takeda) embarks on a road trip across Hokkaido, picking up shy, nervous Akemi (Kaori Momoi) and middle-aged loner Yusaku (Ken Takakura) as travelling companions. But as Kinya struggles too woo Akemi a routine police stop unexpectedly reveals that the taciturn Yusaku is actually a former convict just released from jail after serving time for murder. Yusaku … Read the rest