One of Kato's most beautiful films was shot in fifteen days entirely on a sound stage-despite its plot in which an itinerant gambler wanders countryside and city looking for his long-lost mother. The result is a kind of artistry that defines, early on, Kato's unique screen technique. If the extremely long take has an economic as well as a narrative imperative, no matter; the fluidity of these action-filled shots is mesmerizing, especially in the luminous nighttime sequences. The handsome young actor Kinnosuke Nakamura was born into a family of Kabuki actors but in Kato's films happily appeared without makeup, and seemingly without artifice. He has Elvis looks but his performance has a wounded James Dean quality as, while hunted by violent yakuza, he searches for the parental unit: "I still miss her like a child," he says. Kato interprets the ending of this often-replayed story in his own way. (JB)