Ikimono no kiroku (1955)

An aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto, Fumio Hayasaka (story)

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Kiichi Nakajima
Takashi Shimura	...	Domestic Court Counselor Dr. Harada
Minoru Chiaki	...	Jiro Nakajima
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Toyo Nakajima
Kyôko Aoyama	...	Sue Nakajima
Haruko Tôgô	...	Yoshi Nakajima
Noriko Sengoku	...	Kimie Nakajima
Akemi Negishi	...	Asako Kuribayashi
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Ryoichi Sayama
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Mr. Kuribayashi father
Eijirô Tôno	...	Old man from Brazil
Yutaka Sada	...	Ichiro Nakajima
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Okamoto
Ken Mitsuda	...	Judge Araki
Masao Shimizu	...	Yamazaki, Yoshi's husband (as Gen Shimizu)

Storyline

Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is so frightened and obsessed with the idea of nuclear extermination that his family decides to have him ruled incompetent. Nakajima's fervent wish is for his family to join him in escaping from Japan to the relative safety of South America. Harada, a civil volunteer in the case, sympathizes with Nakajima's conviction, but the old man's irrational behaviour prevents the court from taking his fears seriously.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear | foundry | all knowing psychiatrist | financial worries | nuclear hysteria | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

25 January 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

What the Birds Knew

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Kurosawa's first film to lose money during its initial release.

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Quotes

Jiro Nakajima: My father's scheme is simply a castle in the air. He wants to buy a farm there, but he has no dollars at all. Emigration is being encouraged if it is constructive, but he's running away from Japan because he is afraid. Will he get any dollars? No. I went to the Finance Ministry and verified it. In short, this plan is bound to end up like his underground house.

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Connections

Referenced in Hachi-gatsu no rapusodî (1991)

User Reviews

Mandatory Viewing

Unique and unforgettable ! Scenes that will literally haunt you with beauty, shock, and raw emotion. Unfortunately, rather contemporary due to it's threatening storyline of fear by nuclear attack. Superb ensemble acting with Mifune at peak intensity. Not a wasted shot with hypnotic direction by Kurosawa.