Kuroi kawa (Black River)

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william d I like a number of Kobayashi's films, but I just couldn't get into this one. Although It has a stylish look the story just isn't up to par. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite the first hour or so of this film being very slow and not exactly knowing what to do with it's self it really does make up for it in the last half. Kobayashi shows early signs of a great director with slick camera work and effective shots. Nakadai steals the show in his first ever role and demonstrates how gifted he is as an actor. I would like to give credit to Fumio Watanabe too as I think his performance was fantastic too which I wasn't expecting as I've only ever seen him in exploitation and yakuza films of the 60s and 70s so seeing his versatility was interesting. Overall I would definitely recommend this film despite not being a masterpiece or anywhere near Kobayashis best work Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review nick s The Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi famous for epic Harakiri (1962) had quite a long period of early work when he was focused on family and social dramas. Black River is his 8th film and it is probably the bleakest work of famous Japanese director. Unlike one of my favourite Japanese drama Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky released by Kobayashi 3 years prior to this film, Black River doesn't have anything inspiring, warm or genuine in a good sense. Black River is quite difficult to watch as the viewers immerse into the life of very poor Japanese people who sink in corruption, both actual and moral. There are no protagonists in the film, as even the student Nishida (Fumio Watanabe) appears unable in a decisive moment to understand the feelings and drama of Shizuko (portrayed by Ineko Arima) who has been degraded and trapped. Shizuko is a victim, but we also see her bizarre obsession for the man who raped her. She is not able to get over obsession until the climax. All the characters of Black River have gone through sort of dehumanisation caused by poverty. The political and social message of this film is to show the decay of working class when people steal from the neighbors, appear to be ready to set each other up and share interesting for nothing but gossips. The poor people we encounter have almost lost all the positive features they could have possibly had, and seeing them in this desperate state is quite tough. When one man attempts to unite them to oppose despotism against society, these people sneak out as they got little wages to keep quiet. The consciousness of the poor people and the working class will never change, says the message of Black River. The only girl who is shown in positive light initially is getting raped by local thug Joe (Tatsuya Nakadai). It is awful to observe these scene, as well as the subsequent things occurring to her. In this sense, she represents the fate of poor women who are getting abused and cannot raise their voice against the men, as they are afraid of being blamed by society. We see that even the young guy Nishida who loved her accuses the girl Joe's slut as she has been recently raped. The film is absolutely hopeless for all the characters and social types we see. The social criticism of Kobayashiâ(TM)s feature is certainly something entertaining. Nevertheless, the film would be interesting mostly for those who appreciate the late and acclaimed works of the Japanese master. The bleakest film of Kobayashi is marked with a breakthrough role of young Tatsuya Nakadai who would later become the legend of the Japanese cinema scene. By the way, he is still active as an actor. Ineko Arima delivers a great performance, yet her roles are always very tragic - whether it is Ozu's bleakest film Tokyo Twilight, Zero Focus by Yoshitaro Nomura or Black River. However, the duo of Nakadai and Arima is something that makes this film outstanding. Other than that, Black River is too bleak and hopeless, which makes watching it quite disturbing. Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky remains the best example of Kobayashi's early period of social dramas. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Nakadai gives a Brando-esque performance full of scorching sensuality and malevolence. He spends the entire film doing deplorable things and makes it seem slightly hot. Sweaty melodrama and social critique of post-war Japan with the usual genre flaws... Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Kuroi kawa (Black River)

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