Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ Is A Delightful Crowd-Pleaser

Like the displaced protagonists they often depict, a change of scenery can shake a filmmaker out of his or her creative doldrums. “To the Ends of the Earth” takes Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa—best known for his essential entries in the J-horror canon—to Uzbekistan, of all places. The resulting feature is a tonal shape-shifter, in turn, a road movie, a meditative drama, a thriller, and even a convincing fish-out-of-water comedy. Playing at Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma after prestigious berths at Locarno and NYFF, “To the Ends of the Earth” is a charming detour and the director’s most engaging and delightful effort in years. Above all, the film is essential viewing for fans of Kurosawa.

Yoko (Atsuko Maeda) is the host of a travel series doing a portrait of Uzbekistan. Her demeanor on camera—cheerful, bubbly, and adventurous—is a sharp contrast to lonely evenings spent in her hotel room sending text messages into the void. Meanwhile, the skeleton production crew (among them, Ryo Kase of “Silence” and “Like Someone in Love”) seek out for marketable Uzbek experiences: fishing, local delicacies, and even a ramshackle amusement park. They are accompanied by handsome local translator Temur (Adiz Rajabov), who, in a country so remote, bridges the cultural gap through an unexpected connection to Japan. Taking up the point of view of a nation that is so often orientalized, “To the Ends of the Earth” is deeply critical of the way that its Japanese characters project their values onto the humble Uzbek citizens.

A genre master, Kurosawa has taken up aliens, ghosts, and serial killers as vehicles to scare audiences. So often locating the uncanny within, he often explores a psychic “hollowing out” of his characters in films like “Cure,” “Pulse,” and “Before We Vanish,” making even the most familiar faces menacing. “To the Ends of the Earth” is still preoccupied with fear, but here the unease is external as Yoko becomes alienated by her Uzbek surroundings. She often strays from the path by attempting to navigate public transit with a few English expressions and a map only to end up in an unfamiliar landscape that, focalized through her perspective, becomes threatening.

There is another thriller trope at play, albeit a more unexpected one: the Hitchcockian MacGuffin, a carryover from Kurosawa’s under-seen “Seventh Code.” The film crew’s quest for a mythical fish that can be found in the human-made Aydar Lake is threaded through the plot of “To the Ends of the Earth.” This search becomes bundled up in the sexism that Yoko experiences throughout her various experiences in the country, where she is made to seem out of place even in a bustling, anonymous bazaar. Later, Yoko inadvertently captures footage while vlogging that puts her in the crosshairs of the local police. In true MacGuffin style, the substance of what ignites the ensuing chase is of no importance. Instead, it is her unfounded suspicion and paranoia that transforms an unseen video clip into something dangerous.

A skilled hand, Kurosawa tends towards long takes and wide compositions to capture the breathtaking landscapes. He once again collaborates fruitfully with cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa, at this point equally responsible for the signature feel of a Kurosawa film. Yoko is consistently placed in the center of the CinemaScope frame, usually in the medium or long shot. It’s a strategy that captures the character’s isolation in a foreign environment but also highlights her sense of exceptionalism.

Of course, “To the Ends of the Earth” is also a stunning film to look at, replete with picturesque postcard exteriors, and highlighted by the symmetrical compositions inside Tashkent’s Savoi Theater. Unexpected shifts of perspective and multiple takes acknowledge the diegetic film team’s production and keep the proceedings slippery and playful. Used sparingly and to significant effect, the mournful, horn-driven score by Yûsuke Hayashi is an unexpected highlight for a director not necessarily known for his use of music. It’s not the only impactful theme, as the title of the movie itself is drawn from a song that plays a pivotal role in Yoko’s character development.

“To the Ends of the Earth” had a straightforward bar to clear—to be an improvement on the tedious misfire that was Kurosawa’s 2016 French co-production “Daguerrotype.” A critical breakdown of communication between the travelogue crew and their Uzbek hosts suggests that Kiyoshi Kurosawa has considered the importance of language, particularly what gets lost in translation. Not only are the Japanese director’s ideas here as clear as the blue desert sky, but “To the Ends of the Earth” is unexpectedly lucid and crowd-pleasing where even Kurosawa’s classic works can frustrate with their opacity. [A-]