The best of my 'poorly chosen introductions to Japanese masters' series. Ozu's Tokyo Twilight was almost frighteningly bleak and I don't even remember Mizoguchi's Osaka Elegy. I anticipate that The Stranger Within a Woman is similarly atypical of Naruse, but it stands as good film nonetheless.
Fort those interested in something insightful, I will refer you to Dan Sallitt's excellent comments on the film, which can be found on page 45 (51 of the document itself). He points out that it's derived from the same source material as Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall. Without seeing his take on it, it's pretty easy to see why Chabrol would be interested in the story.
Tashiro, a respectable family man from the suburbs, has killed his best friend's wife, Sayuri, with whom he was having an affair. This is somewhat of a spoiler, since it's not confirmed until a bit of time has passed, but it's virtually obvious from the moment we learn of the murder.
The film is mainly about how the three central characters- Tashiro, his wife Masako, and aforementioned best friend Sugimoto- deal with the situation. Wracked with guilt from the beginning, Tashiro slowly realizes the need to come clean to Sugimoto and Masako. Their responses only intensify his guilt however. Sugimoto figures out quite early on that Tashiro was responsible for his wife's death. But he puts that knowledge aside and in fact seems more caring toward Tashiro and his family. His kindness doesn't even relent when Tashiro admits his guilt to him. Masako seems conspicuously happy, first thinking that Tashiro just ended the affair, and later learning the truth about what happened. She wants their lives to return to normalcy at all costs and hopes for the murder to fade away as a distant dream.
The never-arriving punishment for Tashiro proves overwhelming. He can't seem to escape the sight of death and justice, yet is never touched by them himself. Sayuri, the victim, meanwhile fades from everyone's memory. Tashiro's determination to see himself punished, perhaps even by his own hands, ultimately tests Masako's ability to face the truth.
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