1987·Comedy·2h 8m
7.1
★
Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets from the Japanese authorities. Itakura and Gondo soon find themselves engaged in a complicated, satirical battle of wits.
Directed by Jūzō Itami
satire
taxes
social satire
investigator
cat and mouse
unpaid taxes
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Cast
Nobuko Miyamoto
Ryoko Itakura
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Hideki Gondo
Masahiko Tsugawa
Hanamura
Yasuo Daichi
Ijuin
Kinzō Sakura
Kaneko
Kiriko Shimizu
Kazue Kenmochi
Kazuyo Matsui
Kumi Torikai
Hideo Murota
Jukichi Ishii
Akira Shioji
Mr. Fudo
Koichi Ueda
Ninagawa's Assistant
Yûsuke Nagumo
Ninagawa's Henchman
Yukitomo Tochino
Ninagawa's Henchman
Crew
Jūzō Itami
Director
Jūzō Itami
Writer
Toshiyuki Honda
Original Music Composer
Yonezō Maeda
Director of Photography
Osamu Onodera
Sound Recordist
Popular Reviews
16 reviews
Joshua Timpko
8.0★ · 05/25/26
So glad to rewatch this and show it to my girlfriend Harlie. I’m gonna be showing her a ton of Itami stuff. Before showing her the sequel to this (which is possibly my second favorite Itami, after Supermarket Woman), I had to introduce her to Nobuko Miyamoto as Ryoko Itakura. She’s practically like a superhero. And I just get a giant grin on my face every time her boss tells her she has bed head.
This go around, the film does feel slower and more deliberate than I remember. Maybe it’s the whole “watching it next to someone and paying too close attention to every time they yawn” of it all, but I could sense Harlie was not vibing with the pacing. I think she’ll have an easier time with the sequel, which I remember ramping up in stakes and humor.
Itami is a master at showing process. This film is practically a silent film for long stretches, relying solely on visuals and some stunning cinematography from Yonezô Maeda. So many shots from this are burned in my brain—but then again I’m an Itami fanboy.
I’m still left scratching my head as to how seriously we’re meant to take this film and its sequel. Itakura takes her job so seriously it leans into the realm of parody. I can’t tell if Itami is poking fun at tax investigators or if this is meant to legitimately give praise to the government workers putting in the investigative work to keep tax evaders off the streets and keep tax payers honest. This film feels at times like a daytime noir and the FUCKING SCORE is so magical. Harlie and I both couldn’t help but bop our head and hands along to the melody.
I think Itami really does improve his style in the remaining films in his filmography and Tampopo sets a lot of expectations that it would take him a while to perfect.
But this is an absolute must watch. I still maintain that Juzo Itami is one of the most underrated filmmakers of the 80s and 90s and more people need to be aware of him.
7.8/10
This go around, the film does feel slower and more deliberate than I remember. Maybe it’s the whole “watching it next to someone and paying too close attention to every time they yawn” of it all, but I could sense Harlie was not vibing with the pacing. I think she’ll have an easier time with the sequel, which I remember ramping up in stakes and humor.
Itami is a master at showing process. This film is practically a silent film for long stretches, relying solely on visuals and some stunning cinematography from Yonezô Maeda. So many shots from this are burned in my brain—but then again I’m an Itami fanboy.
I’m still left scratching my head as to how seriously we’re meant to take this film and its sequel. Itakura takes her job so seriously it leans into the realm of parody. I can’t tell if Itami is poking fun at tax investigators or if this is meant to legitimately give praise to the government workers putting in the investigative work to keep tax evaders off the streets and keep tax payers honest. This film feels at times like a daytime noir and the FUCKING SCORE is so magical. Harlie and I both couldn’t help but bop our head and hands along to the melody.
I think Itami really does improve his style in the remaining films in his filmography and Tampopo sets a lot of expectations that it would take him a while to perfect.
But this is an absolute must watch. I still maintain that Juzo Itami is one of the most underrated filmmakers of the 80s and 90s and more people need to be aware of him.
7.8/10
So glad to rewatch this and show it to my girlfriend Harlie. I’m gonna be showing her a ton of Itami stuff. Before showing her the sequel to this (which is possibly my second favorite Itami, after Supermarket Woman), I had to introduce her to Nobuko Miyamoto as Ryoko Itakura. She’s practically like a superhero. And I just get a giant grin on my face every time her boss tells her she has bed head.
This go around, the film does feel slower and more deliberate than I remember. Maybe it’s the whole “watching it next to someone and paying too close attention to every time they yawn” of it all, but I could sense Harlie was not vibing with the pacing. I think she’ll have an easier time with the sequel, which I remember ramping up in stakes and humor.
Itami is a master at showing process. This film is practically a silent film for long stretches, relying solely on visuals and some stunning cinematography from Yonezô Maeda. So many shots from this are burned in my brain—but then again I’m an Itami fanboy.
I’m still left scratching my head as to how seriously we’re meant to take this film and its sequel. Itakura takes her job so seriously it leans into the realm of parody. I can’t tell if Itami is poking fun at tax investigators or if this is meant to legitimately give praise to the government workers putting in the investigative work to keep tax evaders off the streets and keep tax payers honest. This film feels at times like a daytime noir and the FUCKING SCORE is so magical. Harlie and I both couldn’t help but bop our head and hands along to the melody.
I think Itami really does improve his style in the remaining films in his filmography and Tampopo sets a lot of expectations that it would take him a while to perfect.
But this is an absolute must watch. I still maintain that Juzo Itami is one of the most underrated filmmakers of the 80s and 90s and more people need to be aware of him.
7.8/10
This go around, the film does feel slower and more deliberate than I remember. Maybe it’s the whole “watching it next to someone and paying too close attention to every time they yawn” of it all, but I could sense Harlie was not vibing with the pacing. I think she’ll have an easier time with the sequel, which I remember ramping up in stakes and humor.
Itami is a master at showing process. This film is practically a silent film for long stretches, relying solely on visuals and some stunning cinematography from Yonezô Maeda. So many shots from this are burned in my brain—but then again I’m an Itami fanboy.
I’m still left scratching my head as to how seriously we’re meant to take this film and its sequel. Itakura takes her job so seriously it leans into the realm of parody. I can’t tell if Itami is poking fun at tax investigators or if this is meant to legitimately give praise to the government workers putting in the investigative work to keep tax evaders off the streets and keep tax payers honest. This film feels at times like a daytime noir and the FUCKING SCORE is so magical. Harlie and I both couldn’t help but bop our head and hands along to the melody.
I think Itami really does improve his style in the remaining films in his filmography and Tampopo sets a lot of expectations that it would take him a while to perfect.
But this is an absolute must watch. I still maintain that Juzo Itami is one of the most underrated filmmakers of the 80s and 90s and more people need to be aware of him.
7.8/10
Joshua Timpko
8.0★ · 08/17/25
Watch my video essay about Juzo Itami here!
As I am wont to obsess over filmmakers, my sights have been set on Juzo Itami for the last few months. This will mark the fourth film of his I've seen, and while some of the whimsy is absent this go around, the energy, the vibrance, and the attention to detail are all there. I found myself transfixed, yet again, at the way he moves the camera, the way he composes shots, the way he can make something as mundane as tax evasion have the same propulsive energy as a murder mystery or a police procedural. The final act of this film acts as a raid on a business owner suspected of tax evasion, and it's treated with the same gravitas as the raid on Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. And like the Coen Brothers (who are always on my mind lately), this film blends the tones so well, with the severity that the tax bureau takes their jobs, with the absurdity with which they take their jobs (even rummaging in trash heaps to find fraudulently discarded tax documents). These people take their jobs VERY seriously and will go to the ends of the earth to stop fraudulent behavior. It's played so straight that I couldn't tell if the film was sincere about the tax man having a profession akin to violent crime stoppers or if it was mocking them. It constantly felt like there was a joke going right over my head, and I kept looking up, but then it would disappear.
I had to come back to add this: I nearly forgot to highlight the SCORE of this movie. I legitimately want to listen to this in my day-to-day. It was so much fun, riffing on L.A. Noir films and 70's cop dramas. Every time the music cut back in, it was a delight.
Nobuko Miyamoto puts in another dazzling performance. Like in Supermarket Woman, she has so much charm that you understand how so many of the other characters get sucked into her orbit. One of my main complaints about this, though, is that unlike Supermarket Woman, this film--titled A Taxing WOMAN--kinda sidelines her in the last act. It becomes an ensemble affair with the whole department conducting the raid, and she gets kind of put on the back burner while the men in the bureau do some investigative work.
And while I'm on notes, that whimsy of films like Tampopo and Supermarket Woman was missed a little bit. The moments of levity are sparse and effective here, but this did seem like a subject matter that could lend itself to more absurdity and hijinks.
Anyway, another banger from Itami--can't wait for the next one (a sequel to this film).
7.5/10
As I am wont to obsess over filmmakers, my sights have been set on Juzo Itami for the last few months. This will mark the fourth film of his I've seen, and while some of the whimsy is absent this go around, the energy, the vibrance, and the attention to detail are all there. I found myself transfixed, yet again, at the way he moves the camera, the way he composes shots, the way he can make something as mundane as tax evasion have the same propulsive energy as a murder mystery or a police procedural. The final act of this film acts as a raid on a business owner suspected of tax evasion, and it's treated with the same gravitas as the raid on Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. And like the Coen Brothers (who are always on my mind lately), this film blends the tones so well, with the severity that the tax bureau takes their jobs, with the absurdity with which they take their jobs (even rummaging in trash heaps to find fraudulently discarded tax documents). These people take their jobs VERY seriously and will go to the ends of the earth to stop fraudulent behavior. It's played so straight that I couldn't tell if the film was sincere about the tax man having a profession akin to violent crime stoppers or if it was mocking them. It constantly felt like there was a joke going right over my head, and I kept looking up, but then it would disappear.
I had to come back to add this: I nearly forgot to highlight the SCORE of this movie. I legitimately want to listen to this in my day-to-day. It was so much fun, riffing on L.A. Noir films and 70's cop dramas. Every time the music cut back in, it was a delight.
Nobuko Miyamoto puts in another dazzling performance. Like in Supermarket Woman, she has so much charm that you understand how so many of the other characters get sucked into her orbit. One of my main complaints about this, though, is that unlike Supermarket Woman, this film--titled A Taxing WOMAN--kinda sidelines her in the last act. It becomes an ensemble affair with the whole department conducting the raid, and she gets kind of put on the back burner while the men in the bureau do some investigative work.
And while I'm on notes, that whimsy of films like Tampopo and Supermarket Woman was missed a little bit. The moments of levity are sparse and effective here, but this did seem like a subject matter that could lend itself to more absurdity and hijinks.
Anyway, another banger from Itami--can't wait for the next one (a sequel to this film).
7.5/10
Watch my video essay about Juzo Itami here!
As I am wont to obsess over filmmakers, my sights have been set on Juzo Itami for the last few months. This will mark the fourth film of his I've seen, and while some of the whimsy is absent this go around, the energy, the vibrance, and the attention to detail are all there. I found myself transfixed, yet again, at the way he moves the camera, the way he composes shots, the way he can make something as mundane as tax evasion have the same propulsive energy as a murder mystery or a police procedural. The final act of this film acts as a raid on a business owner suspected of tax evasion, and it's treated with the same gravitas as the raid on Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. And like the Coen Brothers (who are always on my mind lately), this film blends the tones so well, with the severity that the tax bureau takes their jobs, with the absurdity with which they take their jobs (even rummaging in trash heaps to find fraudulently discarded tax documents). These people take their jobs VERY seriously and will go to the ends of the earth to stop fraudulent behavior. It's played so straight that I couldn't tell if the film was sincere about the tax man having a profession akin to violent crime stoppers or if it was mocking them. It constantly felt like there was a joke going right over my head, and I kept looking up, but then it would disappear.
I had to come back to add this: I nearly forgot to highlight the SCORE of this movie. I legitimately want to listen to this in my day-to-day. It was so much fun, riffing on L.A. Noir films and 70's cop dramas. Every time the music cut back in, it was a delight.
Nobuko Miyamoto puts in another dazzling performance. Like in Supermarket Woman, she has so much charm that you understand how so many of the other characters get sucked into her orbit. One of my main complaints about this, though, is that unlike Supermarket Woman, this film--titled A Taxing WOMAN--kinda sidelines her in the last act. It becomes an ensemble affair with the whole department conducting the raid, and she gets kind of put on the back burner while the men in the bureau do some investigative work.
And while I'm on notes, that whimsy of films like Tampopo and Supermarket Woman was missed a little bit. The moments of levity are sparse and effective here, but this did seem like a subject matter that could lend itself to more absurdity and hijinks.
Anyway, another banger from Itami--can't wait for the next one (a sequel to this film).
7.5/10
As I am wont to obsess over filmmakers, my sights have been set on Juzo Itami for the last few months. This will mark the fourth film of his I've seen, and while some of the whimsy is absent this go around, the energy, the vibrance, and the attention to detail are all there. I found myself transfixed, yet again, at the way he moves the camera, the way he composes shots, the way he can make something as mundane as tax evasion have the same propulsive energy as a murder mystery or a police procedural. The final act of this film acts as a raid on a business owner suspected of tax evasion, and it's treated with the same gravitas as the raid on Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. And like the Coen Brothers (who are always on my mind lately), this film blends the tones so well, with the severity that the tax bureau takes their jobs, with the absurdity with which they take their jobs (even rummaging in trash heaps to find fraudulently discarded tax documents). These people take their jobs VERY seriously and will go to the ends of the earth to stop fraudulent behavior. It's played so straight that I couldn't tell if the film was sincere about the tax man having a profession akin to violent crime stoppers or if it was mocking them. It constantly felt like there was a joke going right over my head, and I kept looking up, but then it would disappear.
I had to come back to add this: I nearly forgot to highlight the SCORE of this movie. I legitimately want to listen to this in my day-to-day. It was so much fun, riffing on L.A. Noir films and 70's cop dramas. Every time the music cut back in, it was a delight.
Nobuko Miyamoto puts in another dazzling performance. Like in Supermarket Woman, she has so much charm that you understand how so many of the other characters get sucked into her orbit. One of my main complaints about this, though, is that unlike Supermarket Woman, this film--titled A Taxing WOMAN--kinda sidelines her in the last act. It becomes an ensemble affair with the whole department conducting the raid, and she gets kind of put on the back burner while the men in the bureau do some investigative work.
And while I'm on notes, that whimsy of films like Tampopo and Supermarket Woman was missed a little bit. The moments of levity are sparse and effective here, but this did seem like a subject matter that could lend itself to more absurdity and hijinks.
Anyway, another banger from Itami--can't wait for the next one (a sequel to this film).
7.5/10
Benjie
8.0★ · 03/31/25
Itami was a wife guy fr
Itami was a wife guy fr
Hachi
8.4★ · 07/21/24
any juzo Itami film i watch makes me feel so alive
any juzo Itami film i watch makes me feel so alive
vvvynonna
her clocky tall friend shouldve had more screentime
her clocky tall friend shouldve had more screentime