By Player

2000 2h 6m JA

🤯

8.5

MASTERPIECE

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★8.5TMDB · 2★6.9IMDB · 132

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The film is a series of vignettes from Taiji Tonoyama's life and film clips, interspersed with a dialogue to camera by Nobuko Otowa, addressing the camera as if she is addressing Tonoyama himself, recollecting events in his life. The film focuses on Tonoyama's alcohol dependence and his various sexual relationships, as well as his film work with Shindo.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Naoto Takenaka
Taiji Tonoyama
Keiko Oginome
Kimie
Hideko Yoshida
Taiji's wife
Nobuko Otowa
Okaji
Yasuhito Hida
Kei Satō
Kagetora Miura
Kei Yamamoto
Yuriko Hirooka
Yoshiko
Yûki Suzuki
Young Yoshiko

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kaneto Shindō
Writers: Kaneto Shindō
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

ERA

Did you know

26 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kaneto Shindō, shot by Yoshiyuki Miyake. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Naoto Takenaka and Keiko Oginome and Hideko Yoshida carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0263963 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kaneto Shindō directs. Yoshiyuki Miyake behind the camera. Hikaru Hayashi scores. Yukio Watanabe cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

126 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Kaneto Shindō, shot by Yoshiyuki Miyake. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Hikaru Hayashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Yukio Watanabe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Naoto Takenaka and Keiko Oginome and Hideko Yoshida carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0263963 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
8Classified under 8 themes, including "biography", "based on true story", "alcoholism", "filmmaking".