Sakiko, a young bank teller, has an unhealthy obsession with money. Thieves hold up the bank, kidnapping Sakiko in the process, but eventually crash their car, resulting in a suitcase stuffed with cash falling into a nearby river. For the remainder of the film, Sakiko begins a desperate quest to retrieve the money.
Acting
Naomi Nishida's feral physical transformation into money-crazed survivalist
Direction
Yaguchi's deadpan staging of increasingly unhinged scenarios
Editing
Sharp comic timing that lets absurdity breathe
Director
Shinobu Yaguchi
Naomi Nishida
Sakiko Suzuki
Go Riju
Edogawa
Kazue Tsunogae
Tomiko Suzuki
Shinobu Tsuruta
Mikio Suzuki
Takako Katou
Yayoi Itami
Taketoshi Naitō
Shotaro Morita
Hikaru Ijūin
Tanaka
Yuu Tokui
Tsubaki
Yoji Tanaka
Iwata
Mari Hamada
Library Receptionist
Shunsuke Matsuoka
Yankee
Tae Kimura
Eko
Takuji Suzuki
Man Asking for Direction
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shinobu Yaguchi made this as his second feature after film school; the river location required building a custom diving rig for underwater shots.
Released during Japan's Lost Decade, Sakiko's money obsession reads as dark satire of bubble-economy desperation curdling into something almost spiritual.
JP
