Wife of a Spy

1940, Kobe. Yusaku is a merchant in the import trade; business is good, the house is large and he and his wife Satoko live comfortably. He travels to Manchuria on business. He comes back changed; he saw something and documented it. He does not tell his wife. Satoko believes he is involved with a woman. Then she learns the truth: what he holds concerns something the Japanese army did there and he wants to get it out of the country. In the same period her childhood friend takes up a senior post in the military police. Kiyoshi Kurosawa directs. Yu Aoi plays Satoko and Issey Takahashi plays Yusaku. The film won the directing award at the Venice Film Festival. It was first shot on high definition video for television and then prepared for cinema. Kurosawa generally worked in horror and thriller; this is his attempt at a period film. The matter the narrative builds is the difference between knowing and carrying; Satoko has to stand on one side and the choice is not easy. The historical reference at its centre was long not spoken of openly in Japan, and the narrative shows it without stating it. The register is cold; the camera keeps its distance and the emotional scenes are deliberately kept low. Who it is for: viewers who like period thrillers and Japanese cinema. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, the narrative distanced, and it asks for historical context.