Two refugee families from Tokyo near the end of WWII settle in a small town in Hokkaido. They are accepted there, but not really trusted by the locals. When the son of the largest landowner in town proposes to one of the young women of the two families, she is warned off of him because of crimes he committed in China. This brings more mistrust onto the two families, and all local vandalisms and thefts start to get blamed on them. Tensions grow higher and higher, and, after tragedy befalls the landowner's son, the village forms a lynch mob to attack the refugees. This is gripping stuff. One could easily imagine it set in the American West. I'm not sure if this is fact or fiction (obviously the title suggests that no one knows for sure), but it's a believable story. Kinuya Tanaka co-stars. Most of the other actors you'll have seen elsewhere, even if you don't know their names.
Review of Legend of a Duel to the Death
