Otoshiana (Pitfall)

Critics Consensus

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90%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 837

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Movie Info

Mysterious goings-on twist and turn this effective but slightly uneven drama of murder and intrigue into a Gordian knot, skillfully woven by director Hiroshi Teshigahara. One day an impoverished miner is taken aback when he notes that he is being followed around by some stranger dressed in white. He and his son run away from the haunting vision, and the miner eventually gets sent on a job to a specific village. When he arrives with his son, he discovers that there is only one woman living in the village and suddenly the man in white shows up and murders the miner. His son witnesses the act but is not seen himself. Then the killer pays off the woman to identify the murderer as a union leader, while the victim himself is passed off as a rival union leader -- whom he uncannily resembles. From that point onward, the plot thickens considerably as the two real union leaders start to investigate the tragedy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Directed By:

Hiroshi Teshigahara
In Theaters:

Jul 1, 1962 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 10, 2007
Runtime:

95 minutes
Studio:

Criterion Collection

Cast

Hisashi Igawa
as Miner

Kazuo Miyahara
as Son

Sumie Sasaki

Kunie Tanaka
as Murderer

Critic Reviews for Otoshiana (Pitfall)

All Critics (6) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (6)

Teshigahara's visual flair, evident in his sculptural use of wastelands and remarkable superimpositions, is matched by the singular assault of Takemitsu's unorthodox score.

Feb 26, 2008 | Full Review…

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
An outstanding allegorical ghost story.

Jul 20, 2019 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Teshigahara employs simple but effective superimposition in order to visualise the realm of the afterlife.

Aug 1, 2011 | Full Review…

John Berra
Electric Sheep
Teshigahara's wide-swinging yet precise visual vocabulary jolts any hint of staginess into strange cinematic life

Sep 25, 2009 | Full Review…

Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
There is something uneasy underlying the entire film, and watching it is not unlike stepping into a dream in which not everything makes perfect sense, but every detail commands your absolute attention.

Feb 26, 2008 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
One of the most successful teams in Japanese film was that of director Hiroshi Teshigahara, screenwriter Kobo Abe, composer Toru Takemitsu, and cinematographer Hiroshi Segawa.

Apr 20, 2005 | Full Review…

Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

View All Critic Reviews (6)

Audience Reviews for Otoshiana (Pitfall)

Dec 29, 2012

A social/political drama involving a mysterious murder plot and the ghost of the man killed trying to figure out what happened to him. Strange, but very interesting.

Hugo S Super Reviewer
Apr 23, 2012

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara ("Woman in the Dunes"), "Pitfall" is a strange, genre-bending drama mixing murder conspiracy, the supernatural and labor-union disputes. The film's twists and story arc are so unconventional that a review shouldn't reveal much of the plot. Let's stick with the opening events: Hisashi Igawa plays an unnamed, vagrant miner who receives a mysterious offer to work in a village further down the road. When he arrives (with a young son at his side), the area is unexpectedly deserted. Meanwhile, a man in a clean white suit is tailing him, ominously snapping photos from afar. Why? If this sounds like an old "Twilight Zone" episode to you, you aren't so far off. The black and white cinematography feels similar, and the film's year (1962) even overlaps with the TV series' lifespan. "Pitfall" is a dusty, sweaty film loaded with tension, menace and unanswered questions. It also benefits from picturesque, rundown locations and a distinctive score that often sounds like someone banging the insides of a piano. The second half doesn't quite deliver on the premise's potential, but the scenes have a gripping, existential atmosphere similar to "Woman in the Dunes" (but with a thinner sense of allegory).

Eric B Super Reviewer
Jul 29, 2010

Supernatural existentialism abruptly adressed with an industrialist setting and a thrilling plot since the moment when the 30% of the movie's total length has already advanced. Teshigahara uses Abe's flawless screenplay to emphasize man's inevitable error in the process of macabre plotting; irreversible outcomes arise through the scheming of the human's fraudulent nature. Just like in the entire trilogy, the score plays a relevant role of increasing terror. Psychological doom is the formula of Otoshiana, the first part of the auteur's excellent empirical trilogy. 99/100

Edgar C Super Reviewer
Jul 21, 2009

absolutely enthralling and near perfect murder mystery/ghost story. my second viewing of a teshigahara film and he is already a director that has my attention, its just too bad he made so few feature films. this is one of the most unique and interesting ways ive ever seen a crime story told. the cinematography was perfect and the acting superb, especially on the part of igawa. as the writer kobo abe had a lot to do with the originality of the story, but teshigahara brings this story to film in flawless fashion.

danny d Super Reviewer