Tomu Uchida isn’t a name that immediately jumps out to western audiences when discussing the greats of Japanese cinema. A director that had been around since the silent era but lacking a distinctive style like Mizoguchi or Ozu, and whilst he would show a flair for many a genre and be behind many a great film (like the Miyamoto Musashi films of the 60s as well as 57s Sword in the Moonlight), he was firmly in the Jidaigeki genre working for Toei, a studio that was very much playing catch-up with the likes of Toho, Nikkatsu and Shochiku, and not really that interested in releasing their films outside of Japanese borders.
So it may come as a surprise that in 1999, Japan’s oldest film publication, Kinema Junpo (in print since 1919) voted A Fugitive From The Past as Japan’s 3rd most important film in the history of Japanese cinema, just behind Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (No. 1) and Mikio Nature’s Floating Clouds (No. 2). So with it packing such clout, why has it taken so long for us in the west to get out greasy mitts on a copy (outside of festival screenings)?
Whatever the reason, let us all rejoice in the fact that Arrow is once again working its magic and bringing us such delights because this film is downright essential viewing for anyone with a love for Japanese cinema.
A convoluted story that starts, as many do, with a plan and a heist. Invariably the plans of men often go wrong, and this one is no different, but unlike many, it never aims to solve the riddle that usually brings more questions, instead it is far more interested in watching people than in the crime itself.
Whilst the story flows from one character to the next, following one or the other for long stretches, it’s her performance as Yae Sugito that gives the film an anchor, somebody to root for… she has the purest of hearts and lights up the screen every time she shows up.
It’s this study of character that really sets A Fugitive From The Past apart. The closet comparison at this stage is Shōhei Imamura’s 1979 film Vengeance Is Mine, a film that is set very much from the point of view of the criminal, but even then the comparison is more with the plot than the execution because, with all the films I have seen from this era of Japanese cinema (and there have been quite a few), nothing has felt quite like this.
The cast boasts such greats as Rentarō Mikuni, Junzaburō Ban and Ken Takakura, but it’s the manic bursts of joy to the heartbreaking realisation of denial from Sachiko Hidari that really steals the show. Whilst the story flows from one character to the next, following one or the other for long stretches, it’s her performance as Yae Sugito that gives the film an anchor, somebody to root for, even if her methods aren’t always sound, she has the purest of hearts and lights up the screen every time she shows up. She really does do a lot of the heavy lifting in the middle third of the film, very nearly being the sole focus for well over an hour in a 3+ hour movie and never once having the pace grind to a halt, as is so often the case with films in excess of 160 minutes.
The direction is also constantly on the move, from beautiful wide shots to blown-up 16mm film that is as frantic and kinetic as any news footage or documentary. It’s this constant movement that is wonderfully echoed by the hypnotic Shinto Buddhist-like chanting score by Isao Tomita, that prevents anything on screen from falling into a routine, and as the net closes in on our culprit at large, the film settles with it, mirroring the procedural execution of the Police officers that chase their wanted criminal.
A Fugitive From The Past spans a decade of Japan’s history that we only usually see through stories of Yakuza and Cops, and whilst there are plenty of both here, this isn’t their story, because this one here is far more tender and yet ruthless at the same time. It is a true masterpiece and one that deserves a place in anyone’s collection.
A FUGITIVE FROM THE PAST IS OUT NOW ON ARROW VIDEO BLU-RAY
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