The Idiot (1951)

A Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Kameda where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Fyodor Dostoevsky (novel), Eijirô Hisaita

Stars:

Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Setsuko Hara	...	Taeko Nasu
Masayuki Mori	...	Kinji Kameda
Toshirô Mifune	...	Denkichi Akama
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Ayako
Takashi Shimura	...	Ono, Ayako's father
Chieko Higashiyama	...	Satoko, Ayako's mother
Eijirô Yanagi	...	Tohata
Minoru Chiaki	...	Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary
Noriko Sengoku	...	Takako
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Jumpei
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Karube
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Madame Kayama
Chiyoko Fumiya	...	Noriko
Mitsuyo Akashi	...	Madame Akama
Daisuke Inoue	...	Kaoru

Storyline

Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women, Taeko and Ayako. Taeko comes to love Kameda, but is loved in turn by Akama. When Akama realizes that he will never have Taeko, his thoughts turn to murder, and great tragedy ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

love triangle | surrealism | idiot | blizzard | foreign language adaptation | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

30 April 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Idiot

Filming Locations:

Hokkaido, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku

Technical Specs

Runtime:

166 min 182 min (premiere) 272 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed as a two-part production running 265 minutes. Shochiku (the studio) told Akira Kurosawa that the film had to be cut in half, because it was too long; he told them, "In that case, better cut it lengthwise." The film was released truncated at 166 minutes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Kameda's cries in his sleep wakes himself up and others on the train, including Denkichi Akama]
Denkichi Akama: That was some scream.
Kinji Kameda: Forgive me. I was dreaming.
Denkichi Akama: Dreaming? Sounded like you were being murdered.
Kinji Kameda: I was - about to be shot. It's a recurring nightmare of mine. You see, I was convicted as a war criminal.

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Connections

Version of Jinsei no uramichi (1929)

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Soundtracks

Lady of Spain
(uncredited)
Music by Tolchard Evans
Heard in the café that Kameda visits on the day he wanders in the snow

User Reviews

Interesting Dostoevsky Translation

This is a rather meandering tale which is hard to follow without a familiarity with the Dostoevsky novel. Armed with some understanding of the novel, this becomes an interesting translation. It's amazing to watch Kurosawa take its Russian roots and transfer it to Japanese culture. All in all, it's far from being one of his best. But like almost all of his work, it has moments which are fascinating. I would recommend it only to someone who is familiar with the novel or is trying to plow their way through it.