The Idiot

The Idiot

1951 · 166 min · ★ 7.0 · Drama, Romance

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.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Written by Akira Kurosawa

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Criterion Channel

Cast

Make it a double feature

5h 9m together

The Idiot

Ikiru

Both from Akira Kurosawa.

More from Akira KurosawaSee all →

Seven SamuraiSeven Samurai · 1954
Seven Samurai
8.51954
MovieActionDrama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
High and LowHigh and Low · 1963
High and Low
8.41963
MovieDramaCrime
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
IkiruIkiru · 1952
Ikiru
8.31952
MovieDrama
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Red BeardRed Beard · 1965
Red Beard
8.21965
MovieDrama
Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.
YojimboYojimbo · 1961
Yojimbo
8.11961
MovieDramaThriller
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
RashomonRashomon · 1950
Rashomon
8.01950
MovieCrimeDrama
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
RanRan · 1985
Ran
8.01985
MovieActionDrama
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
The Hidden FortressThe Hidden Fortress · 1958
The Hidden Fortress
8.01958
MovieDramaAction
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
Dersu UzalaDersu Uzala · 1975
Dersu Uzala
7.91975
MovieAdventureDrama
A military explorer meets and befriends a Goldi man in Russia’s unmapped forests. A deep and abiding bond evolves between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the glacial Siberian woods.
SanjuroSanjuro · 1962
Sanjuro
7.91962
MovieDramaAction
In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.
Throne of BloodThrone of Blood · 1957
Throne of Blood
7.91957
MovieDramaHistory
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
KagemushaKagemusha · 1980
Kagemusha
7.81980
MovieActionDrama
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
A Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of Dollars · 1964
A Fistful of Dollars
7.81964
MovieWestern
The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.
DreamsDreams · 1990
Dreams
7.71990
MovieFantasyDrama
Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.
The Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent Seven · 1960
The Magnificent Seven
7.51960
MovieWesternAction
An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.
Kaze no YojimboKaze no Yojimbo · 2001
Kaze no Yojimbo
7.42001
SeriesDramaAnimation
George Kodama is investigating an incident that occurred in the small town of Kimujuku over 15 years ago. George is soon caught up in the middle of a bloody gang fight for control of the town.

More Like This

The Talk of the TownThe Talk of the Town · 1942
The Talk of the Town
7.31942
MovieComedyDrama
Hilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood friend, which she has recently rented to a high-principled law teacher.
HeavyHeavy · 1995
Heavy
6.61995
MovieDramaRomance
Victor is a cook who works in a greasy roadside restaurant owned by his mother, Dolly. It's just the two of them, a waitress named Delores, and a heavy drinking regular, Leo. But things change when Callie, a beautiful college dropout, shows up as a new waitress and steals Victor's heart. But Victor is too shy to do anything about it, and too self-consciously overweight to dream of winning Callie away.
HomecomingHomecoming · 2009
Homecoming
6.02009
MovieHorrorThriller
A jilted ex-girlfriend plots revenge after her former beau comes back to their hometown with a new lover.
Jane EyreJane Eyre · 1943
Jane Eyre
6.91943
MovieDramaRomance
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?
Bareilly Ki BarfiBareilly Ki Barfi · 2017
Bareilly Ki Barfi
6.92017
MovieComedyRomance
Bitti Mishra is a bohemian Bareilly girl who falls deeply in love with Pritam Vidrohi, an author because she admires his progressive way of thinking. Finding him though proves to be as hard as looking for a needle in the haystack. So Bitti seeks the help of the local printing press-owner, Chirag Dubey on her journey of love.
That Malicious AgeThat Malicious Age · 1975
That Malicious Age
6.41975
MovieDramaRomance
Gardener Napoleone takes a job in a southern-Italian villa and quickly finds himself embroiled in a menage-a-trois with Paola and her mother, which soon leads to sex, death and mayhem.
The Thing Called LoveThe Thing Called Love · 1993
The Thing Called Love
6.11993
MovieDramaRomance
A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom.
A Thin Line Between Love and HateA Thin Line Between Love and Hate · 1996
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
5.71996
MovieComedyCrime
Nightclub manager Darnell Wright is a perpetual playboy who is almost as devoted to his job as he is to the pursuit of beautiful women. After he sets his sights on the ultra-classy Brandi Web, he launches an all-out assault to win her heart. Ultimately, charm, lust and passion prevail, but Darnell learns the hard way that when you play, you pay. Brandi is much harder to get rid of than she was to get--especially when she realizes that she has a rival vying for Darnell's affection. When he finally decides to call it quits, Brandi becomes an obsessed femme fatale stalking the new love of her life.
The BreathThe Breath · 2009
The Breath
7.32009
MovieWarAction
A small task force of the Turkish army have to defend a relay station in the middle of nowhere against a possible terrorist raid.
The Mountain Between UsThe Mountain Between Us · 2017
The Mountain Between Us
6.62017
MovieDramaAdventure
Stranded on a mountain after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must work together to endure the extreme elements of the remote, snow-covered terrain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing each other to survive and discovering their inner strength.
NanaNana · 2005
Nana
6.82005
MovieRomanceDrama
Two girls named Nana meet on a train to Tokyo. Nana K. aims to reunite with her boyfriend and Nana O. hopes to make it big in the music business. Despite their differences, the pair hit it off and become roommates.
The Stranger by the ShoreThe Stranger by the Shore · 2020
The Stranger by the Shore
8.02020
MovieAnimationRomance
Abandoned after coming out, Shun befriends Mio just before he has to move. Years later, Mio returns with a confession. How will Shun feel?

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter