Castle of Sand

{{Infobox film

| name = Castle of Sand

| image = Caste of Sand Poster.jpg

| caption = Original Japanese poster art

| director = Yoshitarō Nomura

| writer = Yoshitarō Nomura
Shinobu Hashimoto
Yōji Yamada

| based_on = {{based on|Suna no Utsuwa|Seicho Matsumoto}}

| producer = Shinobu Hashimoto
Yoshihara Mishima
Masayuki Sato

| starring = Tetsuro Tamba
Go Kato
Kensaku Morita
Yoko Shimada
Karin Yamaguchi
Shin Saburi
Ken Ogata
Kiyoshi Atsumi

| cinematography = Takashi Kawamata

| editing = Kazuo Ôta

| music = Yasushi Akutagawa

| distributor = Shochiku

| released = {{film date|1974|10|19}}

| runtime = 143 minutes

| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

| budget =

}}

{{nihongo|Castle of Sand|砂の器|Suna no utsuwa}} is a 1974 Japanese police procedural film directed by Yoshitarō Nomura, based on the novel Suna no Utsuwa by Seicho Matsumoto.{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%A0%82%E3%81%AE%E5%99%A8-717286 |title=砂の器とは |publisher=kotobank デジタル辞書 kotobank|access-date=28 December 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/8443|title=橋本忍と加藤剛。巨星が語った最高の日本映画！――春日太一の木曜邦画劇場|work=週刊文春オンライン|accessdate= August 14, 2021}}

Plot

The film tells the tale of two detectives, Imanishi (Tetsuro Tamba) and Yoshimura (Kensaku Morita), tasked with tracking down the murderer of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a rail yard. When the identity of the old man can't be determined, the investigation focuses on the only other clue: a scrap of conversation overheard at a bar between the old man and a younger one. A witness recalls the cryptic phrases "Kameda did this" and "Kameda doesn't change."

This sets off a wide-ranging investigation that covers vast swaths of geography, changing social mores, and time. The investigation ends with an emotional and heartbreaking conclusion, all the more shattering because the reason for the crime no longer exists in the world.{{cite web|url=http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=28578 |title=砂の器 |publisher=Kinema Junpo|access-date=28 December 2020}}

Cast

Tetsuro Tamba – Detective Eitaro Imanishi
Go Kato – Eiryo Waga/Hideo Motoura
Kensaku Morita – Detective Hiroshi Yoshimura
Yoko Shimada – Rieko Takagi
Karin Yamaguchi – Sachiko Tadokoro
Ken Ogata – Kenichi Miki
Seiji Matsuyama – Shokichi Miki
Yoshi Katō – Chiyokichi Motoura
Chishū Ryū – Kojuro Kirihara
Taketoshi Naito
Yoshio Inaba
Shin Saburi – Shigeyoshi Tadokoro
Kinzō Shin

Awards

1975 Kinema Junpo Award[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202604/awards IMDB award listing].
Best Screenplay (Shinobu Hashimoto and Yōji Yamada)
Readers' Choice Award
Best Japanese Film Director (Yoshitaro Nomura)
1975 Mainichi Film Concours
Best Director (Yoshitaro Nomura)
Best Film (Yoshitaro Nomura)
Best Film Score (Kosuke Sugano )
Best Screenplay (Shinobu Hashimoto and Yōji Yamada)
9th Moscow International Film Festival{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1975 |title=9th Moscow International Film Festival (1975) |access-date=2013-01-06 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116194905/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1975 |archive-date=2013-01-16 }}
Diploma (Yoshitaro Nomura)
Nominated for Golden Prize (Yoshitaro Nomura).