Joshua Logan directs Marlon Brando, Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki in this drama where a US air force officer based in Japan falls in love with a native actress, a relationship actively discouraged by all.

As a travelogue deep diving into Japanese culture, customs and exoticism, this is quite wonderful. Drama-wise we focus on the wrong couple. We linger on the leads when Buttons and Umeki are far sweeter and eventually tragic a pairing. Brando is very much doing his own thing, a thing that slows an already stately movie right down to an interminable squelch at times. Logan’s heart is in the right place and as an observance of modern Kyoto it is very pretty.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Mutiny On The Bounty (1962)

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We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/