Intimidation

Koreyoshi Kurahara's 1960 Japanese film is a tight crime narrative that finishes in sixty-five minutes. Takita, a bank manager, is about to be promoted; but someone has learned about his manipulation of the books and is pressing him with blackmail. Nakaike, an old school friend at the same bank, is a quiet clerk who has been passed over for years. The film builds the relationship between the two men through class. Takita is successful, married and respected; Nakaike is invisible. When the plan designed to resolve the blackmail inverts that balance, the film reaches its actual subject. Kurahara worked at Nikkatsu and made formal experiments inside genre cinema. The telling here is extremely economical; there is not one unnecessary scene and the tension is built entirely on timing. Who it's for: those who like Japanese noir and short, tight crime narratives. Who it's not for: viewers expecting character depth; the film defines its characters by function and moves fast.