This was a beautifully shot, slow-burn of a historical/romance crime thriller. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (黒沢 清) took his time to get into the story proper, using most of the first act to set the scene - gorgeous period setting showcasing Japan in the 40s - and establishing the main characters. Lead actors Yu Aoi (蒼井 優) and Issey Takahashi (高橋 一生) held court throughout the near-two hours stretch, especially with the former who had the most complete and tumultuous character arc. It is not common to see a Japanese film that openly criticised Japan's role during World War II and Kurosawa had done it so effortlessly while also daftly saving both an espionage thriller and love-triangle subplots.
The plot really kicked into gear at the second act and surprisingly gave a left turn at the third act that led to an enigmatic and emotionally poignant denouement. Although the end credits did suggest this was a true story, but we cannot seem to be sure.
Like a lot of Japanese dramas, the acting can be rather overly-dramatic at times. However, in this case, Kurosawa seemed to have found a great balance of Hitchcockian suspense with a Lynchian mystery and therefore, Aoi's reactions never really seemed out of place. Although the same cannot be said for the other supporting characters.
Aoi was amazing to watch. Her transformations through the film from dutiful wife, childish compatriot, indignant lover, amateur sleuth, duplicitous femme fatale, spurned partner, fragile patient and criminal mastermind was a delight to observe. In the end, Kurosawa and Aoi presented an enigmatic and ambiguous epilogue that allowed for multiple possible interpretations.
A Silver Lion winner at the 77th Berlin International Film Festival, A Wife of a Spy was a beautiful period drama that paid dividends for its patient audience.
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