Otoshiana

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Cast & Crew

Hisashi Igawa
Miner , Otsuka

Sumie Sasaki
Shopkeeper

Sen Yano
Toyama

Hideo Kanze
Policeman

Kunie Tanaka
Man in white suit

Kei Satô
Reporter

Kazuo Miyahara
The miner's son

Akemi Nara

Tadashi Fukuro
Second union member

Kikuo Kaneuchi
Photographer

Hiroshi Teshigahara
Director

Kobo Abe
Screenwriter

Tadashi Ôno
Producer

Toru Takemitsu
Original Music

Toshi Ichiyanagi
Original Music

Yuji Takahashi
Original Music

Hiroshi Segawa
Cinematographer

Fusako Shuzui
Film Editor

Kiyoshi Awazu
Production Design

Masao Yamazaki
Art Director

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Critic Reviews for Otoshiana (Pitfall)

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

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