Summary
Nishi is marrying into a family headed by the CEO of a powerful public corporation. It seems everyone suspect his new father-in-law and cronies of a far reaching financial scandal, but when a mysterious wedding gift implies that their corrupt actions involved more than simple embezzlement, Public Land Corporation's company officials start committing honorable suicide to hide their shame and save face for their bosses. It seems no one is willing to blow the whistle on the company, until, one of their number returns from the grave.
First Thoughts
This is the first time I have seen this Kurosawa film and actually, it's the first Kurosawa film set in a modern day setting that I have seen. I say that as a disclaimer because this film is not at all what I was expecting and not at all my usual fare as a movie fan.
Crime drama is a genre that I am not normally a huge fan of, although my enjoyment of them has grown the last few years, and all of the Kurosawa films I have seen are feudal Japan dramas, action films, or epics.
Character Drama not Mystery
At first glance, the thing I liked best about "The Bad Sleep Well," was the characters. In a Kurosawa film it isn't enough for a conflict to happen. It has to be a conflict that is driven by character histories and motivations. In fact, it seems a little strange to call this fan a mystery because there is really no mystery at all.
It seems that from the beginning scene of the film, the audience and even the characters all know who the bad guys are, and what they did. What drives the film is not figuring out what happened and which of three suspicious people did it, and surprise, it was all three.
What drives this film is the slow revelation of characters and discovering what things in their lives are important enough to make them turn on their criminal friends. It is all about the motivations of the people on screen. In that regard, it is a brilliant film.
A Film Too Long
So, I think this is the first Kurosawa film that I have seen where I felt it was too long. Normally, I have no problem hanging with the long runtime but this film, where the focus is on the revelation of information and motivation, it is just a long movie with a ton of conversations. This wouldn't normally be bad in a film like this except that we already know who committed the crime.
There is no mystery to create tension in certain scenes, so they don't seem to move fast enough. This might also be due to the fact that the film revolves around an identity question and while the identity revelation might have been surprising when the film was released, these days that sort of revelation can be seen a mile away.
It's not a huge problem but it is enough of an issue for me that it pushes the film into a place where I don't care if I see it again. I liked it. I'm glad I saw it. I don't need to watch it again when there are other Kurosawa films I enjoy so much more.
Honor and Duty
The stand out of the film, to me, is the theme. The whole film revolves around a younger group of characters challenging the older characters to do the honorable thing and turn in their superiors. The problem is that all the older characters come from a world where you do what your superiors tell you, without question, and your duty may be to kill yourself to save them from getting caught.
Final Thoughts
This sort of generational conflict film is really interesting. It's not fun or mind blowing but it is interesting and of particular interest today, where the gap between the mindset of the younger generation and the outlook of the older generation has never been wider.
It is a good film for older generations to watch with a mind to how younger generations see them and the compromises that every generation makes. It doesn't present a great counterpoint to that view but perhaps that is just another small failing in an otherwise good solid film.
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