After four years of work youthful train attendant Yajima (Katsuo Nakamura) sees no value in his job and wants to quit so he can marry girlfriend Kimie (Yoshiko Sakuma). She, however, thinks that job security is more important than a hasty marriage. So Kimie boards the Sakura – the Nagasaki bound express Yajima’s been assigned to – in order to … Read the rest
Tag: Kaneto Shindo
A Scoundrel (Kaneto Shindo, Japan, 1965)
14th Century Japan; an ageing general named Moronao (Eitaro Ozawa) whiles away his time at a private court. When his courtesan Jijyu (Nobuko Otowa) unwisely hints at a Princess of rare beauty who lives in the area (Woman of the Dunes‘ Kyoko Kishida) the General instantly becomes smitten and begins sending the married woman love verses. The verses … Read the rest
Wolf (Kaneto Shindo, Japan, 1955)
A group of rookie insurance salespeople – Yano (Nobuko Otawa), Tomie (Sanae Takasugi), Mikawa (Taiji Tonoyama), Harashima (Jun Hamamura) and Yoshikawa (Ichiro Sugai) – find themselves unable to make their sales targets. Facing the sack and with their personal lives mired in poverty the group agree to rob a cash delivery truck. But after a successful heist all are undone … Read the rest
Ditch (Kaneto Shindo, Japan, 1954)
After being raped a traumatised woman named Tsuru (Nobuko Otowa) wanders into a squatter camp and is immediately taken advantage of by Toku (Taiji Tonoyama) and Pin (Jukichi Uno), two residents keen to use her to fund their gambling habit. Exploiting Tsuru’s good nature by posing as a hard up student Pin worms his way into Tsuru’s affections and convinces … Read the rest
Lucky Dragon No 5 (Kaneto Shindo, Japan, 1959)
The crew of the fishing boat Lucky Dragon venture far outside their usual waters in search of a bigger catch. Near Bikini Atoll a bright flash of light on the horizon turns the night into day and is followed by a strange cloud of ash which covers the ship and its crew. Returning home, the dreadful truth slowly emerges and … Read the rest
