The Magnificent Nine

The people of a town are in trouble because of the land tax and forced labour. Nine of them talk over the town’s future and put together a plan. The plan is this: lend a large sum to the domain and hand the yearly interest out to the townspeople. Collecting the money will take years, and nobody must hear of it. If they are caught they will pay with their lives. The film tells this not as a story of heroism but as a piece of accounting carried through with patience. Comedy and everyday detail carry most of the weight. The hundred and thirty minutes are spread over many years. Sadao Abe, Eita Nagayama and Satoshi Tsumabuki appear in Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Japanese film, completed in 2016.