Watching Kiro ni tachite: A weirdly quiet 1930s gem

If you have an hour and you don't mind reading subtitles while looking at grainy black-and-white faces, then yes, this is worth your time.

It’s perfect for people who like to watch how people stood in rooms a hundred years ago.

If you need explosions or a plot that moves like a bullet, you are going to absolutely hate this.

I found myself staring at Utako Suzuki for most of the runtime.

She has this way of looking just past the camera that makes you feel like she knows something you don't.

There is a scene early on where a character just sits by a window.

The light hits the side of the wall in a way that feels accidental but beautiful.

It reminded me of the grit in The Red Mark, but way more grounded in everyday life.

The plot is about being at a crossroads, obviously, hence the title.

But it’s not some big metaphorical thing.

It’s more like, "Should I stay in this house or go find work in a city that doesn't want me?"

Takeshi Sakamoto pops up and he’s just so reliable as an actor.

He has this dad energy that feels universal, even in 1930s Japan.

There is a moment where someone drops a bowl and it doesn't break.

The camera just lingers on it for like five seconds too long.

I kept waiting for a cut, but it never came.

It made me feel weirdly anxious.

The writing by Tadamoto Ôkubo isn't flashy.

It feels like he just listened to people arguing in the street and wrote it down.

Sometimes the intertitles are a bit clunky, but that’s just how these things go.

I think I liked this more than Ashes of Vengeance because it didn't try to be a giant epic.

It’s just a small story about people being kind of lousy to each other.

There’s a lot of walking.

Characters walk down narrow paths and the dirt looks so real you can almost smell it.

Ichirō Yūki plays his role with this stiff posture that I couldn't tell if it was intentional or if he was just nervous.

Either way, it worked for the character.

One thing that bugged me was the music in the version I watched.

It didn't quite match the mood of the dinner scene.

The dinner scene is the best part, by the way.

Nobody says much, but you can feel the resentment bubbling under the rice.

It’s much more subtle than the acting in something like Tigre reale.

I noticed a stray dog in the background of one shot.

It just wanders through the frame and nobody acknowledges it.

I love stuff like that.

It makes the world feel like it existed before the crew showed up with their cameras.

The ending isn't really an ending.

It just sort of stops.

Which is fine, I guess, because life doesn't usually have credits roll when you make a big decision.

I’m still thinking about that bowl on the floor.

Anyway, go watch it if you want to feel a little bit sad in a quiet way. 🎬