Wife of a Spy
Wife of a Spy | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | スパイの妻 | ||||
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Genre | |||||
Directed by | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | ||||
Starring | |||||
Composer | NHK Enterprises CVI Entertainment | ||||
Original release | |||||
Network | NHK | ||||
Release | June 6, 2020 |
Wife of a Spy (
A theatrical version of Wife of a Spy was selected in the main competition section of the 77th Venice International Film Festival,[3][4] where it won the Silver Lion.[5]
Plot
Members of the
In 1940, Yūsaku Fukuhara (Takahashi) runs an international import-export business in
Satoko stars as a glamorous thief in an amateur heist film with Yūsaku's nephew Fumio (Bandō) and Yūsaku screens the film for his colleagues at the office's
Satoko becomes increasingly suspicious of Yūsaku after learning about the woman who returned with her husband, Hiroko Kusakabe (Hyunri), after a tip-off from Taiji that Hiroko has been murdered and Yūsaku applied for passports for himself and Hiroko to leave the country. She visits Fumio in Arima and finds him disheveled and incandescent in his room, where he shouts at her about her unseeing ignorance of her husband's actions to maintain her comfortable lifestyle. He informs her that he is being watched by the military police, and gives her a package for Yūsaku, correctly assuming that the police standing outside the ryokan will not interrogate her. At home, Yūsaku explains what he and Fumio saw in Manchuria: biological experiments, including deliberately spreading plague, committed by Unit 731 (not explicitly named) on civilians in Manchuria. The package Satoko received from Fumio contained notes from one of the doctors procured by Hiroko, a copy translated into English by Fumio, and a short film of the facilities used for experimentation, corpses, vivisection, and the burning of bodies. Satoko accuses Yūsaku of being an American spy and unconcerned with their lives, but he explains he is not spying for any country; rather, he is making the information public in the name of justice.
In the office, Yūsaku puts the package from Fumio into a safe in the back of the office, but Satoko is able to open the safe using the combination she was given while shooting Yūsaku's short film. While she is closing the safe, she knocks over a chessboard and is unable to return the pieces to their correct position. Later, Yūsaku notices the chess pieces in the wrong positions, opens the safe, and realizes the Japanese notebook has been taken. Fumio is arrested by Taiji and the military police and tortured for sharing national secrets with the enemy. When Taiji summons Yūsaku to the office, he reveals that Fumio admitted to everything and that he worked alone. While Taiji doesn't believe Fumio's forced confession, he has the notebook which was turned into him by an anonymous citizen. Yūsaku returns home and questions Satoko, who admits she gave the notebook to Taiji, but she was sure that Fumio would not implicate Yūsaku even under torture. Together they watch the beginning of the short film which contains shots of the original Japanese notebook. Yūsaku admits that there is a second, longer film with better detail and more clarity that he plans to show the Americans.
In 1941, the U.S. places an oil embargo on Japan. Yūsaku's chances of leaving Japan to give the information of the illegal experiments to the Allies are almost nothing. While he cannot leave under legal means, he is able to smuggle himself out of the country in a shipping crate. Satoko agrees to go with him and help prepare for the trip. They exchange Japanese yen for watches and jewelry to pay for their journey overseas. Before they are about to leave, under the guise of taking a two-week trip so as to not arouse suspicion, Yūsaku decides they should split up. Satoko will take the film of the experiments in the shipping crate of a freighter, and he will go to America from Shanghai. However once Satoko is in the shipping crate, the military police search the ship for a stowaway and the man Yūsaku paid to smuggle Satoko shows the police where she is hiding. She is brought before Taiji and beseeches him to be the gentle person she knew in childhood, but he hits her across the face and says that she deserves death for treason. The military police screen the film Satoko was smuggling but it is revealed that Yūsaku swapped the film of the experiments with the amateur film he made of Satoko and Fumio months ago. With no other evidence to convict her, Satoko is released from police custody. Yūsaku is shown sailing away on a small fishing boat to Shanghai.
In March 1945, Satoko has been confined to a mental hospital for an untold number of months when Dr. Nozaki, a friend of hers and Yūsaku's, comes to see her and promises to get her out through his connections with
The final scene states that Yūsaku Fukuhara was declared dead in 1946 but there were signs of forgery on the death certificate; Satoko Fukuhara left for the United States a few years later.
Cast
- Yū Aoi as Satoko Fukuhara (福原 聡子, Fukuhara Satoko)
- Issey Takahashi as Yūsaku Fukuhara (福原 優作, Fukuhara Yūsaku)
- Masahiro Higashide as Taiji Tsumori (津森 泰治, Tsumori Taiji)
- Ryōta Bandō as Fumio Takeshita (竹下 文雄, Takeshita Fumio)
- Yuri Tsunematsu as Komako (駒子, Komako)
- Minosuke as Kanamura (金村, Kanamura)
- Hyunri as Hiroko Kusakabe (草壁 弘子, Kusakabe Hiroko)
- Takashi Sasano as Doctor Nozaki (野崎, Nozaki)
Release
Wife of a Spy was first broadcast in Japan on NHK's NHK BS4K and NHK BS8K on 6 June 2020.[6][7][8]
A theatrical version of the film, with different aspect ratio and color grading,[6][7] had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on 8 September 2020.[3][4] It will be released in Japan on 16 October 2020 by Bitters End.[6][2][7][needs update] It was also selected as closing film at the 51st International Film Festival of India.[9] It was selected the Centerpiece Presentation for the 2021 Japan Cuts film festival.[10]
As of January 2, 2022[update], the film's theatrical release has grossed nearly $2.3 million.[11]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Recipient / Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 77th Venice International Film Festival | Silver Lion | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Won | [12] |
2021 | 15th Asian Film Awards | Best Film | Wife of a Spy | Won | [13][14] |
Best Director | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Yū Aoi | Won | |||
Best Costume Design | Haruki Koketsu | Won | |||
Best Art Director | Norifumi Ataka | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b Frater, Patrick (21 February 2020). "Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Wife of a Spy Picked up by Nikkatsu". Variety. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ a b Sharf, Zack (28 July 2020). "Venice Film Festival 2020 Full Lineup: Luca Guadagnino, Chloe Zhao, Gia Coppola, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ La Biennale di Venezia. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Venice Film Festival 2020 Winners: Nomadland Takes Golden Lion, Vanessa Kirby Is Best Actress". IndieWire. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "黒沢清×蒼井優『スパイの妻』劇場版が10月に公開 予告編&ティザーも" [Kiyoshi Kurosawa's & Yu Aoi's Wife of a Spy theatrical version to be released in October (Trailer & Teaser)]. cinra.net (in Japanese). 19 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "黒沢清×蒼井優×高橋一生「スパイの妻」劇場版、10月16日公開" [Kiyoshi Kurosawa x Yu Aoi x Issei Takahashi Wife of a Spy theatrical version to be released on October 16th]. eiga.com (in Japanese). 19 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ "過去の放送 - スパイの妻 - NHK" [Past broadcasts of Wife of a Spy – NHK]. nhk.or.jp (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ Shekhar, Mimansa (16 January 2021). "IFFI 2021: Everything to know about the film festival". Indian Express.
- ^ "Wife of a Spy". Japan Society. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Wife of a Spy (2020)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Venice Film Festival 2020 Winners: Nomadland Takes Golden Lion, Vanessa Kirby Is Best Actress". IndieWire. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "The 15th Asian Film Awards Nominations Announced". Asian Film Awards Academy. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ Souw, Rebecca; Frater, Patrick (8 October 2021). "'Wife of a Spy' Wins Top Prize at Asian Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 9 October 2021.