E-Mail This Article to a Friend THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED

This debut feature from director Izuru Narushima owes some degree of debt to Yasujiro Ozu in its warm but intensive rendering of a decade-long friendship between a cop and a career criminal. Suburban police detective Jin (Koji Yakusho, from Kairo) is a mild-mannered widower who’s caring for his young daughter. The story opens to find him sitting beside her hospital bed after her bout of appendicitis, softly whispering and never taking his eyes off her. Plagued by loneliness and ennui, Jin then returns to active duty, where his chance meeting in a park with cat burglar Neko (Emoto Akira from The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) sparks a friendship that’s both rejuvenating and challenging: Jin is fascinated by Neko’s philosophical approach to burglary, and Neko gamely mentors Jin so that he can become a better detective. Narushima’s direction makes for many memorable moments of deadpan hilarity, and Yakusho and Akira give naturalistic, letter-perfect performances. In Japanese with English subtitles. (110 minutes)