Black River

Black River

1957 · 114 min · JA · 7.0 (36 votes)
Dir. Masaki Kobayashi · Starring Ineko Arima, Fumio Watanabe, Tatsuya Nakadai, Tomo'o Nagai, Keiko Awaji, Asao Sano · Music Chūji Kinoshita
CrimeDrama

A love triangle develops between a benevolent student, his innocent girlfriend, and a cruel petty criminal, all as a point of diagnosis of a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness during the post-War era.

VIBE

A stark, grimy look at the underbelly of post-war Japan. It feels like a smoky, dimly lit room where desperation hangs heavy in the air, and every character is trapped by circumstance.

grittytensemelancholiccynicalsteadyneo-noirkitchen sink realismperiod dramacrimeurban decaydesperationsocial commentary
▶ Stream on Criterion Channel
yakuzapetty criminal
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