An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to Brazil. When they petition to have him declared incompetent, a family-court counselor witnesses his obsession slide into ruin—and asks whether ignoring the atomic threat is any saner.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
obsession
paranoia
psychiatric hospital
psychiatrist
foundry
post war japan
japanese family
anxiety
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.7 / 5
Cast
Toshirō Mifune
Kiichi Nakajima
Takashi Shimura
Domestic Court Counselor Dr. Harada
Minoru Chiaki
Jiro Nakajima
Masao Shimizu
Yamazaki, Yoshi's husband
Eiko Miyoshi
Toyo Nakajima
Kyoko Aoyama
Sue Nakajima
Haruko Tōgō
Yoshi Nakajima
Noriko Sengoku
Kimie Nakajima
Akemi Negishi
Asako Kuribayashi
Hiroshi Tachikawa
Ryoichi Sayama
Kichijirō Ueda
Mr. Kuribayashi father
Eijirō Tōno
Old man from Brazil
Crew
Akira Kurosawa
Director
Shinobu Hashimoto
Writer
Masaru Satō
Original Music Composer
Asakazu Nakai
Director of Photography
Sōjirō Motoki
Producer
Akira Kurosawa
Story
Fumio Hayasaka
Story
Yoshirō Muraki
Production Design
Popular Reviews
33 reviews
Jack Sinclair
6.7★ · 12/20/25
An interesting look at the fear or paranoia of a post nuclear Japan. Perhaps some cultural aspects were lost on me but I really apppreciated seeing Toshiro Mifune play an incredibly convincing 70 year old man while only being around 35 at the time. And of course Takashi Shimura being excellent which is to be expected.
An interesting look at the fear or paranoia of a post nuclear Japan. Perhaps some cultural aspects were lost on me but I really apppreciated seeing Toshiro Mifune play an incredibly convincing 70 year old man while only being around 35 at the time. And of course Takashi Shimura being excellent which is to be expected.
2
Kanekuri
7.0★ · 04/08/26
Underrated but I’m so lazy to write anything
Underrated but I’m so lazy to write anything
Jay Hope
any film with toshiro mifune off his nut is a very good film
any film with toshiro mifune off his nut is a very good film
Tommy_54
8.0★ · 05/17/25
A very intriguing look at post-war paranoia and the fear of the end of the world because of man-made weapons at the end of the 2nd World War and the beginning of the Cold War.
Some absurd shit happens at times, but it works quite well.
A very intriguing look at post-war paranoia and the fear of the end of the world because of man-made weapons at the end of the 2nd World War and the beginning of the Cold War.
Some absurd shit happens at times, but it works quite well.
Jackson Smith
9.2★ · 05/11/25
Great acting all the way through but Mifune has his career best performance and shines through brightly. Definitely Kurosawa’s most underrated movie and not talked about enough
Great acting all the way through but Mifune has his career best performance and shines through brightly. Definitely Kurosawa’s most underrated movie and not talked about enough
