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Having been an assistant director to Masahiro Shinoda and Kiriro Urayama for several years, Kohei Oguri would join the ranks of these acclaimed filmmakers with works such as “Sting of Death” and “Muddy River”. The latter especially is noteworthy for several reasons, not only because it was the Japanese Oscar entry of 1981 but also since it won the Silver Prize at Moscow International Film Festival in the same year. Leaving aside the awards it achieved, “Muddy River” is a fascinating and quite captivating debut, which thematically and aesthetically feels like a feature that could have been made in the 1960s. Based on a novel by writer Teru Miyamoto, it is on the surface a story about friendship and family, but if you take a deeper look, it is at the same time an insightful depiction of Japan after the war, the poverty of many people and the perspectives of the younger generation.