Dotanba

Based on a 1956 television feature on Japan’s national network, NHK, this is one of Uchida’s rarest films. A socially conscious drama with a contemporary backdrop, Dotanba focuses on the attempts to rescue a group of trapped miners. The title is a figure of speech — (essentially “last minute” or “eleventh hour”) — that refers to a situation of peril. The film boasts a script co-written by Uchida and Akira Kurosawa’s frequent screenwriter, Shinobu Hashimoto, and stars Kurosawa’s frequent star Takashi Shimura.

Cast

Rentaro Mikuni

Kō Nishimura

Daisuke Katō

Taiji Tonoyama

Jun Tatara

Keiko Tsushima

Chōko Iida

Murasaki Fujima

Akitake Kōno

Noriko Sengoku