Synopsis

After finishing what would become his international phenomenon Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa immediately turned to one of the most daring, and problem-plagued, productions of his career.

The Idiot, an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s nineteenth-century masterpiece about a wayward, pure soul’s reintegration into society — updated by Kurosawa to capture Japan’s postwar aimlessness — was a victim of studio interference and, finally, public indifference.



Today, this “folly” looks ever more fascinating, a stylish, otherworldly evocation of one man’s wintry mindscape. -- The Criterion Collection

Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women, Taeko and Ayako. Taeko comes to love Kameda, but is loved in turn by Akama. When Akama realizes that he will never have Taeko, his thoughts turn to murder, and great tragedy ensues. -- IMDb

Cast: Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshiko Kuga, Takashi Shimura, Chieko Higashiyama, Eijiro Yanagi