An innocuous comment during a weapon inspection wounds the pride of low-ranking samurai Shinpachi, leading to an argument with his superior. The situation snowballs out of control, leading to a deadly duel and political fallout which threatens the entire clan. Declared mentally unstable by the corrupt authority, Shinpachi begins his descent into true insanity…
Direction
Imai's claustrophobic framing traps you in Shinpachi's shrinking world.
Acting
Nakamura's descent from pride to madness without histrionics.
Cinematography
Stark black-and-white that makes every room feel like a cell.
Director
Tadashi Imai
Kinnosuke Nakamura
Shinpachi Ezaki
Takahiro Tamura
Jubei Ezaki
Tetsuro Tamba
Shume Okuno
Yoshiko Mita
Ritsu
Ai Sasaki
Michi
Eitarō Shindō
Koetsu
Shoichi Ozawa
Koyama Samon
Kinzō Shin
Nishida Saburobei
Haruo Tanaka
Shiraki Jinzaemon
Yoshi Katō
Denbei Niwa
Masao Mishima
Ogawa Kobei
Shigeru Kōyama
Okuno Magodayu
Toshie Kimura
Nui
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Imai was a communist filmmaker who used jidaigeki to critique class structures and feudal loyalty; this was rare political subversion in 1960s Japanese cinema.
Takahiro Tamura and Kinnosuke Nakamura were real-life rivals who rarely shared billing; their brotherly tension here is allegedly not entirely acted.
JP
