The Castle of Sand(Suna no utsuwa)

Nomura Yoshitaro became quite the specialist in taking Matsumoto’s crime fiction to the big screen. The director’s fourth Matsumoto adaptation, based on the 1961 novel Inspector Imanishi Investigates, returns to earlier film Stakeout’s feature of two detectives heading far afield to catch a murderer, only this time the gumshoes are even more tenacious. Armed with just two clues – the killer’s accent and a single name – they dig into small-town history, forensics and more as they hunt for leads. Nomura conducts a complex police procedural, culminating in a symphonic finale founded on trauma and cruel destiny.

Kinema Junpo Top Ten: #2 and Award for Best Screenplay