This film will probably take many of the viewers by surprise. Apparently the tax system and the art of cheating on your taxes in Japan is something most Westerners might be surprised to see. Sure, MOST cultures have some people who try to avoid taxes--this is pretty much a given. But the lengths to which they go in Japan and the lengths the tax investigators go to catch them is truly amazing and makes this film so unusual.
The tax cheat in the film, Mr. Gondo, is a complex and unusual man. In some ways, he's a slimy man with little to like--owning a string of "love motels" (i.e., hotels where prostitutes go with their clients or couples commit adultery) and mistreating his mistresses pretty badly. But, oddly, through the course of the film, the viewer and the tax lady come to like him or at least recognize he isn't all bad. This is important because otherwise, the film would have been far less interesting. Also, the many, many, many bizarre ways of hiding cash and bank accounts was truly bizarre--with hidden rooms and account information hidden practically EVERYWHERE! The lady tax investigator, Ryoko Itakura, is amazing as well--sort of like a superhero with amazing deductive powers. She is both tenacious and brilliant but also obsessed to the point where she doesn't appear to have much purpose in life but her job. Again, this made for a fascinating woman, as later you saw bits and pieces of her life that led you to believe she is a real person with real likes and dislikes--and even a liking for Gondo.
All in all, this is one of the more unusual films I have seen--with a plot that is so unusual and a style that make it a standout film.
