Black Carp

1998 · 95 min · Drama

Serious-minded company accountant Kosuke Yamashita is facing problems at both work and home when a young woman unexpectedly asks him to meet his childhood friend Shozo Obama. The two men have not seen each other for twenty-seven years, and Kosuke soon learns that Shozo is terminally ill. Still as persuasive and opportunistic as ever, Shozo proposes one final money-making scheme: travel to Nagano, acquire a supposedly valuable rare carp called a “Karasugoi,” and sell it for a fortune. Their quarrelsome journey gradually becomes a chance to revisit old memories, regrets and a friendship neither man truly left behind.

Directed by Osamu Yamaizumi · Written by Shunsaku Ikehata