MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for The Idiot

The Idiot

1951 · 166 min

A slow, snowbound plunge into compassion and jealousy, where every tender gesture aches with impending ruin.

Overview
A gentle, war-shattered ex-soldier, Kinji Kameda, arrives in wintry Hokkaidō and is pulled into a volatile tangle of love and pity between the disgraced Taeko Nasu, the proud Ayako, and his possessive friend Akama. Kameda’s saintly compassion exposes everyone’s wounds, steering the quartet toward jealousy, violence, and inexorable tragedy. Adapted from Dostoevsky’s novel.

Search YouTube for the trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • love
  • isolation
  • guilt
  • morality
  • obsession
Places
  • small town
  • countryside
  • home
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror2
Humour2
Realism7
Romance6
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity8
Emotional weight9

More like this

Titles like The Idiot

Movie

Chikamatsu Monogatari

1954

A grave, slow-burning tragedy of doomed love, where quiet social cruelty and rigid duty press down until tenderness becomes heartbreaking.

Same composer: Fumio Hayasaka · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about love and morality

Also
Same composer: Fumio Hayasaka
Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • love
  • morality
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
102 min
Details In your watch list
Chikamatsu MonogatariHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Drunken Angel

1948

A gritty, compassionate postwar drama that simmers with moral tension and quiet despair, anchored by a doctor's stubborn hope.

Same director: Akira Kurosawa · Melancholic, dark · about isolation and guilt

Also
Same director: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • melancholic
  • dark
  • isolation
  • guilt
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
98 min
Details In your watch list
Drunken AngelHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Handmaiden

2016

A lush, twisting tale of desire and deception that keeps you off-balance, blending cruelty with tenderness in a sumptuous, unsettling experience.

Melancholic, dark · about love and obsession · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • dark
  • love
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
145 min
Details In your watch list
The HandmaidenHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Red Beard

1965

A slow, deeply humane immersion into suffering and compassion that rewards patience with quiet emotional force.

Same writer: Akira Kurosawa · Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn

Also
Same writer: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
185 min
Details In your watch list
Red BeardHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Ugetsu

1953

A haunting, slow-burning fable that drifts between ghost story and moral tragedy, leaving a lingering ache.

Same composer: Fumio Hayasaka · Melancholic, dark, slow-burn · nonlinear

Also
Same composer: Fumio Hayasaka
Via
  • melancholic
  • dark
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
96 min
Details In your watch list
UgetsuHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Rashomon

1950

A haunting, intellectually gripping puzzle that immerses you in moral ambiguity and stunning imagery.

Same director: Akira Kurosawa · Dark, tense · about morality · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • morality
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
88 min
Details In your watch list
RashomonHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Double Suicide

1969

A somber, theatrical tragedy that unfolds with ritualistic precision, blending stark black-and-white imagery with a haunting sense of inevitable doom.

Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about love and guilt · nonlinear

Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • love
  • guilt
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
105 min
Details In your watch list
Double SuicideHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Seven Samurai

1954

A patient, deeply human epic that builds from quiet character moments to a thrilling, rain-soaked battle, leaving a bittersweet ache.

Same writer: Akira Kurosawa · Melancholic, tense

Also
Same writer: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
207 min
Details In your watch list
Seven SamuraiHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

No Regrets for Our Youth

1946

A slow, deeply felt journey through love and political awakening, weighed down by history yet finally lifting with quiet, hard-won dignity.

Same writer: Eijiro Hisaita · Melancholic, tense, slow-burn · about love · nonlinear

Also
Same writer: Eijiro Hisaita
Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • love
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
111 min
Details In your watch list
No Regrets for Our YouthHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Quiet Duel

1949

A somber, morally serious medical drama that quietly accumulates emotional weight through restraint and ethical anguish.

Same director: Akira Kurosawa · Melancholic, dark · about love and isolation

Also
Same director: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • melancholic
  • dark
  • love
  • isolation
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
95 min
Details In your watch list
The Quiet DuelHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

High and Low

1963

A slow-burning moral thriller that moves from a tense domestic standoff to a meticulous police procedural, ending on a haunting note of class resentment.

Same writer: Akira Kurosawa · Melancholic, dark · about morality and obsession · nonlinear

Also
Same writer: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • melancholic
  • dark
  • morality
  • obsession
  • nonlinear
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
142 min
Details In your watch list
High and LowHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Ikiru

1952

A quiet, deeply moving meditation on mortality that asks you to sit with a man's regret and his late, small triumph.

Same director: Akira Kurosawa · Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about isolation · nonlinear

Also
Same director: Akira Kurosawa
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • isolation
  • nonlinear
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
143 min
Details In your watch list
IkiruHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, romance
Directed by
Akira Kurosawa
Written by
Akira Kurosawa, Eijiro Hisaita
Starring
Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori, Toshirō Mifune, Yoshiko Kuga, Takashi Shimura, Chieko Higashiyama, Eijirō Yanagi, Minoru Chiaki
Music
Fumio Hayasaka
Cinematography
Toshio Ubukata
Runtime
166 min
Country
Japan
Languages
Japanese

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.