Jake Stockwell

More of a filmed play than a cinematic journey, this movie provides plenty of gristle to chew on and is constructed with Kurosawa's trademark care and talent. Anyone who's spent at least a little time in the company of hopelessness will be able to chime with an expression of their experience among the fantastic performances here. The female roles in particular offer the most poignant depictions of desperation, of longing for something better within the tightened constraints of a patriarchy, but the males that surround them are utterly useless, unable to marshal their access to patriarchal privilege into anything meaningful. A sordid portrayal of corrosive masculinity, and a wonderful work of lasting brilliance.