While I have seen numerous crime films from Japan, I've never gone out of my way to seek out something that seemed to be specifically belonging to the noir style. I Am Waiting is as good a place as any to start, from my experience, as it makes use of some standard staples in an effectively lean tale that blends character moments with the expected noir beats.
Yûjirô Ishihara plays Jôji Shimaki, a former boxer biding his time until he can head to Brazil and join his brother there. Jôji feels like he's made too many mistakes in his life already, but getting away might give him the chance for a whole new start. Saeko (Mie Kitahara) is a woman considering suicide to escape her own life, being made to work as a singer at a cabaret by gangsters who won't let her leave. I Am Waiting begins with these two characters meeting, allowing both of them to recognise pain and regret in one another. Can they work together to improve their situations though? Will the people around them allow it?
While I have enjoyed numerous other films from the long-running Nikkatsu studio, I don't think I have seen anything else written by Shintarô Ishihara or directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara. I'll try (and undoubtedly fail) to keep their names in mind though, because this is a great little film that manages to work in some bleak subject matter with a light touch that offers viewers a sense of optimism throughout, even when dragging our main characters down lower and lower. Jôji and Saeko are broken spirits, but there's a constant tiny hope that they might figure out a way to get the damage repaired.
It helps that both Ishihara and Kitahara are captivating figures. Both manage to show their characters as desperate, far from where they want to be, but also proud and ready to believe in the smallest chance to turn things around. Once they have one another, that belief is exponentially increased, and you can feel some extra warmth and light emanating from the screen. Hideaki Nitani is a suitably menacing presence as the main gangster, and Isamu Kosugi delivers a fine supporting turn as a kindly older gentleman named Uchiyama.
There's at least one coincidence strengthening the connection between our two main characters that viewers may not like, but it didn't bother me at all. The rest of the film plays out, for the most part, how you'd expect. It's just very well done though, thanks to the writing and the balance between the time spent exploring some emotional wounds and the efficiency of the plotting and dialogue. While there's no big puzzle or mystery at the heart of things, it's still easiest to describe this as a gorgeous jigsaw puzzle that has every piece perfectly interlocking with those surrounding it. Absolute top-quality stuff.
8/10
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