The latest film from Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is the television movie “Wife of a Spy”, a period spy drama, which is a first for this talented filmmaker. Shot digitally in 8k and prepared in two versions, a television version running at 60 frames per second and a theatrical version (for international film festivals) running at the normal 24 fps, the film was highly anticipated by fans of Kurosawa.
The MIFF guide describes the film like so: “In 1940, with the (world) war on Japan's doorstep, wealthy silk merchant Yusaku heads to (Japanese occupied) Manchuria on a business trip, leaving his wife, amateur movie star Satoko, behind in Kobe. (However after witnessing unthinkable human atrocities performed in the name of war), he returns a changed man, in possession of a horrific secret and a film to prove it. But when military police inform Satoko that her husband also brought (back) with him a woman, now dead, she must decide where her loyalties lie.”
My recent viewing of this film at MIFF was actually the second time that I had seen “Wife of a Spy”, as I had originally viewed the television presentation earlier in the year. This version, presented at sixty frames per second, caused me serious problems with the look of the film, as it had that sickly, digital and very smooth motioned look to it that is often associated with soap operas. I absolutely hate this look, as it gives any film using it an automatic look of cheapness to it. Soon after, I read that a “theatrical” version had also been prepared for film festivals running at the normal 24 frames per second, and after watching identical trailers for the film, with the exception of frame rate, I knew I wanted to re-evaluate this film after watching this theatrical version. When the film was announced at MIFF this year, I immediately booked my session, eager to finally see it on the big screen. As we know now however, thanks to COVID-19, this screening never ended up taking place, however “Wife of a Spy” did end up as part of MIFF's online selection. The thrill of seeing it again was to see it on the big screen, so I was initially not going to bother with the online screening. Late in the festival I decided to give it a chance just in case it was the 24 frame per second version, which turned out to be the case and thankfully my experience of the film was a more positive one.
That being said, I would still have to concede that this is not one of Kurosawa's strongest efforts. The biggest thing that surprised me most about “Wife of a Spy” was how anti-Japanese it was. Actually, the better way to describe it is that it held a critical eye on the genocide committed by Japan during the war. The main goal of our protagonist is to provide information to the U.S in an attempt to force them into the war and defeat Japan. This shocked me quite a bit, as Japan is often reticent in bringing up both the war in general, their defeat, and the atrocities they committed during the war, and now here it is, front and centre in a film made by a big internationally acclaimed director. Do not get me wrong, I think that it is great that the film didn't “white-wash” this part of their history, and actually tackled it head on, but it was a surprise. When Satoko questions her husband and states that this action will make him a traitor to his country, Yusaku replies “my allegiance isn't to any one country, but rather to a universal justice, and that he will not tolerate injustice of any kind” (I'm paraphrasing here). Satoko then counters this argument by saying herself that “your kind of justice, will end up killing a lot more innocent Japanese”. From just this brief dialogue exchange, you can see where a lot of the tension and suspense will come from, with Satoko having to choose either her country or her husband.
My biggest issue with “Wife of a Spy” is that it should be a lot more suspenseful, and exciting than it actually ends up being. Personally I think that the first half of the film is the stronger of the two, and just when the film needs to lift off and fly, Kurosawa is unable to make it do so. The second half falls relatively flat, as I never truly felt any increased danger for our couple, even though it is a life or death situation for them both. There is an extra element to the story in that the police chief investigating Yusaku and Satoko, is actually one of their old friends, Yasuharu, who clearly has a crush on the young woman. He is often found attempting to protect Satoko from the dangers of Yusaku's actions, whilst at the same time trying to get information from her to bring his old friend down. Whether or not, he wants to do so in an attempt to steal the woman away from Yusaku, it's never explicitly said, but you certainly feel that this love triangle adds to Yasuharu's determination to prove Yusaku is a spy. However, the longer his investigations go along, the more aggressive his techniques to finding information become, as he starts to deal in torture, thus becoming unrecognisable as the friend he once was.
My favourite moment in the film comes right in the middle when Satoko goes to the police for the second time. It is a brilliant scene that deals in manipulation, power plays, deceit and truth. The most important element to the scene is one that is never mentioned during it. All throughout the film both Yusaku and Satoko are seen wearing Western style clothes, but Satoko arrives at the station this time wearing a traditional Japanese kimono, thus subtly hinting where her true allegiances lie.
The strongest element of “Wife of a Spy” is no doubt Yu Aoi's excellent performance as Satoko. She has a lot to do in this, from expressing her initial fears about her husband's exploits and trying to determine if he is being truthful with her, and then deciding if she has the same beliefs and ideals as him to follow him down this dangerous path, or whether or not she should turn him in. Trust, truth, identity and humanity all play a huge part in the film, and Aoi is able to encapsulate it all. She starts the film as a shy, naïve thing, but by the end her eyes are wide open and she is a much stronger force that should never be underestimated. The male actors, Issey Takahashi (playing Yusaku) and Masahiro Higashide (playing Yasuharu), do not fare as well though. It is not that they are terrible in their roles, it is just that they are more one-note in their portrayals. Maybe that is because their characters are both myopic in their ambitions, but I just felt that there were less shades of humanity in their performances, at least compared to Yu Aoi.
Whilst I was a much bigger fan of this “theatrical” version of “Wife of a Spy”, I must say that it still cannot hide it's television origins. It feels very set bound, and lacks a reality normally very present in films by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. This is the first time in a very long time that Kurosawa has not worked with his regular cinematographer, Akiko Ashizawa, on a project and you can certainly see the difference. Tatsunosuke Sasaki performs those duties on “Wife of a Spy” and although the images often are bathed in a nice yellow light, I personally think that the film has been over-lit, and that the images are too bright. This is a story that needed darkness and shadows in an attempt to build up the atmosphere and suspense. The way it has been shot has taken that all away, or at least lessened its impact. That is not to say that there are none of the iconic Kurosawa images in this, because there are. Two I can think of immediately are when the body of the dead woman is found floating in the lake, and the almost apocalyptic image at the end of Satoko standing amongst the rubble of the burning building that has just been bombed. Like the acting, the cinematography isn't terrible, but I expect much more atmospheric visuals in a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film than what we get here.
The final thing I want to mention about this film is that it goes on far too long, with the final fifteen minutes being essentially superfluous. It has the perfect ending which should've been at the image of the wave goodbye. However, for some reason Kurosawa keeps the film going long after this for a collection of scenes set in an asylum which were not needed, and took away from the film as a whole. He attempts to spell everything out to the audience which takes away from what should've been the ambiguity of its ending, but as it is now, the film ends on a relative whimper. I will say though, that this ending does come with the iconic Kurosawa shot that I mentioned above, so that is its only saving grace.
Overall, I believe that “Wife of a Spy” isn't one of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's strongest films. It is in no way a disaster, but the film just doesn't soar like it should have. This talented director struggles to build the necessary suspense and atmosphere needed to get the most out of this story. Do not get me wrong, it is a good film, with a very strong lead performance from Yu Aoi (and excellent sound design too, which I failed to mention), its just not a great film, and at the end of the day, I would say that it is a “minor” Kurosawa effort.
3 Stars.
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