J-Film Blog

The Bad Sleep Well, aka 悪い奴ほどよく眠る, or “the bad guys sleep well”…. an apt description for this complex drama from master Akira Kurosawa.

Look, I’m going to be honest with you.  This movie’s plot is quite complex.  I’m not even sure I understood exactly what all was happening.  Its a tangled web of deceit, intrigue, greed, and revenge.

Koichi Nishi (Toshiro Mifune) is an up-and-coming executive business type who’s married the daughter of one of his bosses to get a leg up in the company.  Not that unusual really.  But as events unfold, it becomes clear there is more going on than just a man looking for an “easy in.”

Events of the past, namely the suspicious death of one Mr. Furuya, start to come back to haunt the executives of “Public” corp.  Past payoffs, coverups, other mysterious deaths….  things get stranger and stranger, until….

It’s revealed that Nishi isn’t in fact who he says he is, but rather Furuya’s son come looking for revenge.  Which he exacts in nefarious ways.  Of course the situation is further complicated by the fact that he’s in fact fallen in love with the daughter…  argh.

Don’t let the complexities of the plot fool you.  If nothing else this film is brilliant to look at.  Kurosawa does not disappoint, setting up some brilliant shots that you can’t help but marvel at in their symbolism.  Its a bit long, like I said its complex, and somewhat difficult to follow.  The key points, though, are obvious enough once its done.  Full of action it isn’t, either, but its not supposed to be.

Decidedly a departure from the “samurai” fare… or is it? I dunno.  Toshiro Mifune is nearly unrecognizable in this.  Gone is the typical crazy-banzai-samurai which he’s played so many times before.  In his place is a stoic, driven, almost fanatical character, that you can’t help but fear.  Again, don’t miss it.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054460/
Amazon:The Bad Sleep Well – Criterion Collection

The Trailer, doesn’t do it justice: