# Caterpillar (キャタピラー) (2010 film)
**Caterpillar** (キャタピラー) is a 2010 Japanese anti-war drama directed by Kôji Wakamatsu, adapted from [Edogawa Ranpo](https://www.edgepedia.org/edogawa-ranpo)'s short story *Imomushi* (芋虫, "Caterpillar"). It follows a Japanese soldier who returns from the [Second Sino-Japanese War](https://www.edgepedia.org/second-sino-japanese-war) without arms or legs, and the wife who must care for him while the village venerates him as a living war god.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55337/) • [2](https://eiga.com/news/20090908/7/) The film competed at the 60th [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival), where Shinobu Terajima won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Kôji Wakamatsu (also producer), of Wakamatsu Production[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221) |
| Source | Edogawa Ranpo's short story *Imomushi* (芋虫), with the setting moved to World War II[2](https://eiga.com/news/20090908/7/) |
| Cast | Shinobu Terajima as Shigeko Kurokawa; Shima Ônishi as Kyuzo Kurokawa[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221) |
| Japanese release | 14 August 2010; 87 minutes; rated R15+[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55337/) |
| Festival | In competition, 60th Berlin International Film Festival (2010); Silver Bear for Best Actress (Terajima)[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221) |
| US release | Limited theatrical release May 6, 2011, distributed by Lorber Films; gross $2.1K[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar) |
| Critical reception | 86% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 14 reviews[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar) |
## Spoilers
### Story
In 1944, Lieutenant Kyuzo Kurokawa (Shima Ônishi) returns to his home village from the war in China having lost both arms and legs; his face is burned and he can neither speak nor hear. Decorated with medals, he is celebrated by the villagers as a "living war god" (生ける軍神). His wife Shigeko (Shinobu Terajima) is charged with his care, feeding him, tending to his bodily functions, and satisfying his sexual appetite, which persists despite his condition. As Japan's defeat approaches, Kyuzo is haunted by flashbacks to the women he raped and killed on the continent, and Shigeko, initially a devoted caretaker, begins to take revenge for his past transgressions.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55337/) • [5](https://www.hulu.jp/caterpillar) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar)
In the ending, Kyuzo, tormented by guilt over his acts in the war, takes his own life by entering the garden pond.[6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/caterpillar-movie-spoiler/)
## Adaptation and intent
The film is a fiction built on Edogawa Ranpo's 1929 short story *Imomushi*, transposed from its original setting to World War II; it is not an account of a real incident.[2](https://eiga.com/news/20090908/7/) • [6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/caterpillar-movie-spoiler/) Wakamatsu said the idea came to him while making his previous film *United Red Army* (実録・連合赤軍 あさま山荘への道程, 2007), when he reflected on why the young radicals he had filmed endured such harsh training, and on the folly of the war waged by their parents' generation. He chose to show the folly of war through the women left behind in farming villages rather than through battlefield spectacle, stating that there is no such thing as a just war and that those who suffer most are children and women.[7](https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/location/film/caterpillar/top)
The film incorporates documentary war footage and radio propaganda alongside its domestic drama.[8](https://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/2010/03/02/berlinale-2010-dispatch-4/) Kino Lorber, its US distributor, describes it as an indictment of Japan's militaristic and nationalistic past.[9](https://kinolorber.com/film/caterpillar)
## Production and release
The film was shot on location in Niigata Prefecture, including Nagaoka, Kariwa, Kashiwazaki, and Minamiuonuma.[7](https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/location/film/caterpillar/top) The screenplay is by Hisako Kurosawa and Izuru Deguchi, with music by Sally Kubota and Yumi Okada and a theme song, "Shinda Onna no Ko" (死んだ女の子), performed by Hitomi.[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221) • [10](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/336110) It was distributed in Japan by Wakamatsu Production and Score, opening on 14 August 2010 with the head theater at Theatre Shinjinjuku.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55337/) • [11](https://lp.p.pia.jp/event/movie/18311/index.html) It was shot on 35 mm in color with a 1.85:1 screen ratio and DTS sound.[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221)
Lorber Films gave it a limited US theatrical release on May 6, 2011, with a streaming release on June 20, 2012; the US gross was $2.1K.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar)
## Reception
At the 60th Berlin International Film Festival the film screened in competition and divided opinion; The Independent noted that it provoked strong emotions at a festival where few competition films did.[12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/berlin-film-festival-braced-against-the-big-chill-1903828.html) Terajima's Silver Bear for Best Actress was the first won by a Japanese actress at the festival in 35 years, according to a report of the film's Japanese opening-day stage greeting.[13](https://jisin.jp/entertainment/entertainment-news/1605283/)
Critics were largely positive. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 86% Tomatometer from 14 reviews, against a 53% audience score from over 1,000 ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar) Mike Hale of The New York Times observed that while the husband may look like a caterpillar, it is the wife who undergoes the transformation.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar) Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com praised its blend of a B-movie aesthetic, montage, documentary elements, and a scathing critique of nationalism and militarism.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar) Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter called it a masterpiece with "the blunt force of a tank rolling over naked flesh."[9](https://kinolorber.com/film/caterpillar) More critical voices included David Cairns of MUBI, who found it over-explicit and confused.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar) Reviewers repeatedly noted the film's difficulty: V.A. Musetto of the [New York Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-post) called it hard to watch but well directed, acted, and photographed.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar)
## Legacy
Wakamatsu, one of Japan's most fiercely independent director-producers and a pioneer of pinku eiga, died on 17 October 2012, two years after the film's release.[8](https://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/2010/03/02/berlinale-2010-dispatch-4/) • [14](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/022488) Actor Shima Ônishi described the production, built around a two-person dynamic with Terajima, as marking a second chapter in his career.[15](https://post.tv-asahi.co.jp/post-254907/) As of October 2026 the film streams on subscription in Japan on U-NEXT and Hulu, with rental availability on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and FOD Premium.[6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/caterpillar-movie-spoiler/)
## References
1. [キャタピラー : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/55337/)
2. [若松孝二監督の最新作「キャタピラー」完成間近。江戸川乱歩「芋虫」が原作, 映画.com ニュース (2009)](https://eiga.com/news/20090908/7/)
3. [JFDB - キャタピラー, Japan Foundation Japanese Film Database](https://jfdb.jp/title/2221)
4. [Caterpillar, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caterpillar)
5. [キャタピラー, Hulu Japan](https://www.hulu.jp/caterpillar)
6. [映画『キャタピラー』ネタバレ結末を考察, VOD TIMES](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/caterpillar-movie-spoiler/)
7. [映画「キャタピラー」スペシャルインタビュー, にいがたロケーションガイド (Niigata Prefecture)](https://niigata-kankou.or.jp/location/film/caterpillar/top)
8. [Berlinale 2010: Dispatch 4, Electric Sheep Magazine](https://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/2010/03/02/berlinale-2010-dispatch-4/)
9. [Caterpillar, Kino Lorber Theatrical](https://kinolorber.com/film/caterpillar)
10. [キャタピラー, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/336110)
11. [キャタピラーの作品情報・あらすじ・キャスト, ぴあ映画](https://lp.p.pia.jp/event/movie/18311/index.html)
12. [Berlin Film Festival - Braced against the big chill, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/berlin-film-festival-braced-against-the-big-chill-1903828.html)
13. [映画『キャタピラー』公開初日舞台挨拶, 女性自身](https://jisin.jp/entertainment/entertainment-news/1605283/)
14. [キャタピラー, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/022488)
15. [大西信満、故・若松孝二監督の映画でスタートした"役者としての第2章", テレ朝POST](https://post.tv-asahi.co.jp/post-254907/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › War action and adventure › War action films released since 2000 › Released 2000 to 2016*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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