Castle of Sand

Castle of Sand (砂の器, Suna no utsuwa) is a 1974 Japanese police procedural film directed by Yoshitarō Nomura, based on the novel Suna no Utsuwa by Seicho Matsumoto.^[1][2]

Castle of Sand
Original Japanese poster art
Directed by	Yoshitarō Nomura
Written by	Yoshitarō Nomura Shinobu Hashimoto Yōji Yamada
Based on	Suna no Utsuwa by Seicho Matsumoto
Produced by	Shinobu Hashimoto Yoshihara Mishima Masayuki Sato
Starring	Tetsuro Tamba Go Kato Kensaku Morita Yoko Shimada Karin Yamaguchi Shin Saburi Ken Ogata Kiyoshi Atsumi
Cinematography	Takashi Kawamata
Edited by	Kazuo Ôta
Music by	Yasushi Akutagawa
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	October 19, 1974 (1974-10-19)
Running time	143 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Plot

The film tells the tale of two detectives, Imanishi (Tetsuro Tamba) and Yoshimura (Kensaku Morita), tasked with tracking down the murderer of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a rail yard. When the identity of the old man can't be determined, the investigation focuses on the only other clue: a scrap of conversation overheard at a bar between the old man and a younger one. A witness recalls the cryptic phrases "Kameda did this" and "Kameda doesn't change."

This sets off a wide-ranging investigation that covers vast swaths of geography, changing social mores, and time. The investigation ends with an emotional and heartbreaking conclusion, all the more shattering because the reason for the crime no longer exists in the world.^[3]

Cast

• Tetsuro Tamba – Detective Eitaro Imanishi
• Go Kato – Eiryo Waga/Hideo Motoura
• Kensaku Morita – Detective Hiroshi Yoshimura
• Yoko Shimada – Rieko Takagi
• Karin Yamaguchi – Sachiko Tadokoro
• Ken Ogata – Kenichi Miki
• Seiji Matsuyama – Shokichi Miki
• Yoshi Katō – Chiyokichi Motoura
• Chishū Ryū – Kojuro Kirihara
• Taketoshi Naito
• Yoshio Inaba
• Shin Saburi – Shigeyoshi Tadokoro
• Kinzō Shin

Awards

• 1975 Kinema Junpo Award^[4]
  • Best Screenplay (Shinobu Hashimoto and Yōji Yamada)
• Readers' Choice Award
  • Best Japanese Film Director (Yoshitaro Nomura)
• 1975 Mainichi Film Concours
  • Best Director (Yoshitaro Nomura)
  • Best Film (Yoshitaro Nomura)
  • Best Film Score (Kosuke Sugano )
  • Best Screenplay (Shinobu Hashimoto and Yōji Yamada)
• 9th Moscow International Film Festival^[5]
  • Diploma (Yoshitaro Nomura)
  • Nominated for Golden Prize (Yoshitaro Nomura).