This film begins with an attractive woman by the name of "Ayako Takigawa" (Ayako Wakao) being enveloped by the press as she is led into a courtroom where she is charged with the murder of her husband "Ryokichi Takigawa" (Eitaro Ozawa). She subsequently pleads not guilty and the story of how she sent her husband tumbling down a steep mountain proceeds from there with certain witnesses called to testify and voice their concerns about her true agenda. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good drama which makes good use of the flashback technique to enhance the overall story. Likewise, having a beautiful actress like Ayako Wakao certainly didn't hurt the picture either. In any case, while there were some scenes that caused the film to drag in certain places, I thought that this was an interesting film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
3 Reviews
7.3/10. Recommended.
athanasiosze18 March 2024
2 reviews only? This is sad, this is too good to be forgotten. Not that this is some kind of masterpiece neither it will blow your mind. But it is a very good courtroom drama/thriller with great acting performances and a clever script. And i haven't even mentioned its biggest quality : Ending is so brilliant that it makes you question your judgement about what you watched. I cannot be more specific in order to avoid spoilers. All i can say is that the viewer might guess from the start where it goes but there are so many layers here that it's difficult to judge these characters correctly. You think it's black or white but it's neither : The whole movie is a gray area. And that's the brilliance of this movie. I know i am being too vague but if you have the opportunity to watch it, do it, especially if you are a fan of this genre. Watch it and you will understand what i mean.
A Wife Confesses (1961)
mevmijaumau3 July 2015
A Wife Confesses is a 1961 crime/courtroom drama film based on Masaya Maruyama's novel, directed by Yasuzo Masumura, a prominent New Wave director who was interested in portraying the lives and needs of individual citizens as opposed to focusing on the Japanese society in general. This movie remains one of his more famous works, and certainly one of his most serious ones, as his career spans from sleazy violence to yakuza and pinku films.
Ayako Wakao, one of the best Japanese actresses of that period, stars as a wife accused of murdering her husband during a mountain climbing trip. She broke the taboo of cutting the rope while both of them were hanging from the stone and the fact that her other lover was present complicates things further. The film poses the question of whether or not following your own survival instincts on the behalf of someone else's life is acceptable or not. This is a very morally ambiguous film and it doesn't judge any of the characters (except for the husband, who's a royal d*ck), so the viewer's input is pretty much obligatory. I guess you can also read it as an early feminist film.
The narrative is interrupted by sudden flashbacks and scenes from outside the courtroom, while the visuals are inspired half by American courtroom dramas, half by film noir aesthetics, with characteristic Japanese framing thrown in for good measure. I like how during the courtroom scenes, Ayako and the witnesses are closely surrounded by other characters in the foreground of the frame, while the rest of the film frames her usually isolated, on the screen's corners. I also like the visual analogy of the doomed marriage shown as the couple hanging from the same rope. That being said, the movie has a very slow pace and it threw me off a bit because of that, and I also didn't care much for some scenes. It's a good movie, but I expected something more, I guess.
Ayako Wakao, one of the best Japanese actresses of that period, stars as a wife accused of murdering her husband during a mountain climbing trip. She broke the taboo of cutting the rope while both of them were hanging from the stone and the fact that her other lover was present complicates things further. The film poses the question of whether or not following your own survival instincts on the behalf of someone else's life is acceptable or not. This is a very morally ambiguous film and it doesn't judge any of the characters (except for the husband, who's a royal d*ck), so the viewer's input is pretty much obligatory. I guess you can also read it as an early feminist film.
The narrative is interrupted by sudden flashbacks and scenes from outside the courtroom, while the visuals are inspired half by American courtroom dramas, half by film noir aesthetics, with characteristic Japanese framing thrown in for good measure. I like how during the courtroom scenes, Ayako and the witnesses are closely surrounded by other characters in the foreground of the frame, while the rest of the film frames her usually isolated, on the screen's corners. I also like the visual analogy of the doomed marriage shown as the couple hanging from the same rope. That being said, the movie has a very slow pace and it threw me off a bit because of that, and I also didn't care much for some scenes. It's a good movie, but I expected something more, I guess.
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