The Idiot

1951 2h 46m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 135

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A gentle, war-shattered ex-soldier, Kinji Kameda, arrives in wintry Hokkaidō and is pulled into a volatile tangle of love and pity between the disgraced Taeko Nasu, the proud Ayako, and his possessive friend Akama. Kameda’s saintly compassion exposes everyone’s wounds, steering the quartet toward jealousy, violence, and inexorable tragedy. Adapted from Dostoevsky’s novel.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Setsuko Hara
Taeko Nasu
Masayuki Mori
Kinji Kameda
Toshirō Mifune
Denkichi Akama
Yoshiko Kuga
Ayako
Takashi Shimura
Ono, Ayako's father
Chieko Higashiyama
Satoko, Ayako's mother
Eijirō Yanagi
Tohata
Minoru Chiaki
Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Eijiro Hisaita
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 166 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

75 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Akira Kurosawa, shot by Toshio Ubukata. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Fumio Hayasaka. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Akira Kurosawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Setsuko Hara and Masayuki Mori and Toshirō Mifune carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0043614 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Akira Kurosawa directs. Toshio Ubukata behind the camera. Fumio Hayasaka scores. Akira Kurosawa cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 166 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
275 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Akira Kurosawa, shot by Toshio Ubukata. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Fumio Hayasaka. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Akira Kurosawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Setsuko Hara and Masayuki Mori and Toshirō Mifune carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0043614 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "jealousy", "love triangle", "snow", "blizzard".

The technical file

Cinematography: Toshio Ubukata
Original score: Fumio Hayasaka
Editing: Akira Kurosawa
Costume design: Yoshie Taguchi
Runtime: 166 min · 2h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: The Idiot (1951)

Also by

Akira Kurosawa

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-02-12
★ 7/10
"Kameda" (Masayuki Mori) is a Japanese soldier suffering from what looks like a degree of PTSD after he only narrowly escaped a firing squad for a crime he did not commit in his country's war with Russia. His mental status is distinctly precarious when he heads home. Along the way he encounters the savvy "Akama" (an on-form Toshirô Mifune) who is also a man on a bit of a mission - to wed his sweetheart "Taeko" (Setsuko Hara) who has been the kept woman of an older man for many a year. She is effectively put up for sale, and her potential buyer is a man - "Kayama" (Minoru Chiaki) - who is associated with a man who might be able to help "Kameda" reintegrate, but who is also in love with the feisty and head-strong "Ayako" (Yoshiko Kuga). The course of true love never runs smoothly and, upon meeting, she and "Kameda" find themselves drawn to each other. Now without giving too much away, the remainder of the film is an intricately constructed adaptation of Dostoyevky's original story of love, deception, integrity and loyalty that requires concentration and pays off if you do. It deals well with the implications of wartime illnesses and of the role of women in a society that still regarded them as (porcelain) chattels - as well as proving us with a more traditional, good old, love-triangle scenario. It is entertainingly structured with intensity and a degree of humour woven into a character study that offers a myriad of personalities and no obvious "right answer". What soon becomes clear though, is that the eponymous moniker attributed to "Kameda" is as ill-applied as could be. The photography amidst the snow-capped mountains of Sapporo is effective as a conduit for some of the emotional barren-ness and the score compliments well the evolving, frequently stalling, story that meanders towards a conclusion that ultimately demonstrates that a strong and characterful cast and a great story can easily carry almost 2¾ of cinema effortless and engagingly. Certainly worth a big screen viewing if you can. Well worth it.

Production companies