I Am Waiting

Koreyoshi Kurahara's 1957 Japanese film follows Joji, a former boxer who runs a small restaurant by the harbour. One night on the docks he finds a club singer trying to escape; she is fleeing her employer and Joji helps her. Both of them are waiting for something. Joji waits for news of his missing brother and she waits for her past to let go of her; the narrative holds both waits inside the same nights and opens its plot slowly. It is Kurahara's first feature and carries the manner of Nikkatsu crime films of the period: black and white, harbour locations, fog and jazz. Yujiro Ishihara leads and was the studio's best-known actor in those years. Who it's for: those who like fifties Japanese crime cinema and the noir manner. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a fast detective story; the film keeps atmosphere ahead of plot.