# Wife of a Spy (スパイの妻)
**Wife of a Spy** (スパイの妻, *Supai no Tsuma*) is a 2020 Japanese period thriller directed by [Kiyoshi Kurosawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiyoshi-kurosawa), set in Kobe in 1940, in which a merchant who secretly films atrocities committed by the Japanese military in [Manchuria](https://www.edgepedia.org/manchuria) decides to expose them, and his wife must choose between her husband and her country. It won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/awards/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Kiyoshi Kurosawa; screenplay by Kurosawa, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and Tadashi Nohara[2](https://www.hulu.jp/wife-of-a-spy) |
| Origin | Theatrical version of a same-titled drama broadcast on NHK BS8K in June 2020, reworked with a new screen size and color tone[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/) |
| Japanese release | 16 October 2020, 115 minutes, distributed by Bitters End[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/) |
| Venice | Silver Lion (Best Director), 77th Venice International Film Festival, 2020; also nominated for the Golden Lion[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/awards/) |
| Asian Film Awards 2021 | Best Film; Best Actress for Yû Aoi; Best Director nomination for Kurosawa[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/awards/) |
| US release | Limited theatrical release 17 September 2021 by Kino Lorber; US gross $68.8K[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy) |
| Reception | 89% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (56 reviews); Metascore 79 from 16 reviews[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/criticreviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The year is 1940 in Kobe, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II, shortly after Japan signed the tripartite pact with Italy and Germany.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy) • [6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kiyoshi-kurosawa-on-why-he-hopes-wife-of-a-spy-will-create-some-controversy-at-home-in-japan/5153280.article) Yusaku Fukuhara (Issey Takahashi), a cosmopolitan import-export merchant and amateur filmmaker, senses the direction the country is taking and travels to Manchuria with his nephew Fumio (Ryota Bando), leaving his wife Satoko (Yû Aoi) behind.[2](https://www.hulu.jp/wife-of-a-spy) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy)
In Manchuria, Yusaku witnesses atrocities committed by the Japanese military and secretly films them, becoming determined to bring what he saw to light.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy) Film Comment describes the hidden footage as an exposé of Japan's bio-weapons program.[7](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-comment-recommends-wife-of-a-spy/) Back in Kobe, Satoko is summoned by her childhood friend Taiji ([Masahiro Higashide](https://www.edgepedia.org/masahiro-higashide)), now a military policeman, who warns her about her husband's seditious ways and tells her that a woman Yusaku brought back from his trip has died.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy) When Satoko discovers film hidden in a safe showing a terrible state secret recorded in Manchuria, she learns her husband's true intentions, and, though she knows she will be reviled as a spy's wife, resolves to live on with the man she loves.[8](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/172130/-/01) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/) The Guardian's review describes Yusaku's plan to pass the details to the international community, chiefly the Americans, and notes a coda set in the horror of 1945.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/06/wife-of-a-spy-review-kiyoshi-kurosawa)
## Production
The film originated as a television drama broadcast on NHK BS8K in June 2020, starring Yû Aoi and directed by Kurosawa; the theatrical version reworked the material with a new screen size and color tone.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/) It was shot in 8K.[10](https://kinolorber.com/film/wife-of-a-spy) Kurosawa has said it was his first period film, and that researching the history of the Japanese military's activities in Manchuria and recreating the era in Japan proved the greater challenge.[6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kiyoshi-kurosawa-on-why-he-hopes-wife-of-a-spy-will-create-some-controversy-at-home-in-japan/5153280.article) In his director's statement he wrote that the film is not about the war, which serves as the backdrop, while acknowledging the acts of ruthless violence Japan committed on foreign soil.[11](https://kinolorberbucket.s3.amazonaws.com/production/documents/Wife%20of%20a%20Spy%20%E2%80%93%20Press%20Kit%20FINAL.pdf)
The screenplay is credited to Kurosawa with Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Tadashi Nohara; Hamaguchi had written *Happy Hour*, and the music is by the musician Ryosuke Nagaoka, known for his work with Petrolz and Tokyo Incidents.[2](https://www.hulu.jp/wife-of-a-spy) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/) Aoi and Takahashi had previously played a married couple in *Romance Doll*.[3](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/) The supporting cast includes Masahiro Higashide, Sasano Takashi, Yuri Tsunematsu, and Ryota Bando.[2](https://www.hulu.jp/wife-of-a-spy) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy)
## Reception and awards
At the 77th Venice International Film Festival the film screened in competition and won the Silver Lion for Best Director, Kurosawa's award, while also being nominated for the [Golden Lion](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-lion).[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/awards/) • [12](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9128) At the 2021 Asian Film Awards it won Best Film and Best Actress for Yû Aoi, with a Best Director nomination for Kurosawa.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/awards/)
Critical response was strongly positive in aggregate: 89 percent of 56 critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a positive review, and its Metacritic score was 79 based on 16 reviews.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/criticreviews/) Glenn Kenny of The New York Times called it "something like linear narrative perfection, with every scene perfectly calibrated," and reviewers repeatedly noted its Hitchcockian framing of loyalties, trust, and betrayal within a marriage.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/criticreviews/) • [13](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/wife-of-a-spy-venice-review/5153001.article) Kino Lorber released it in limited US theaters on 17 September 2021, with streaming on 16 November 2021; it grossed $68.8K in the US.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy)
## Significance
The film stands out in Kurosawa's career, which is otherwise rooted in contemporary settings such as *Tokyo Sonata* and *Pulse*, as his first period piece.[6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kiyoshi-kurosawa-on-why-he-hopes-wife-of-a-spy-will-create-some-controversy-at-home-in-japan/5153280.article) • [10](https://kinolorber.com/film/wife-of-a-spy) It also confronts a chapter of Japanese wartime history, the military's atrocities in Manchuria, that reviewers noted is rarely placed at the center of a Japanese commercial film; Kurosawa said he hoped it would create some controversy at home in Japan.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/criticreviews/) • [6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kiyoshi-kurosawa-on-why-he-hopes-wife-of-a-spy-will-create-some-controversy-at-home-in-japan/5153280.article) The Silver Lion was the first Venice directing award for a Japanese film in 17 years, according to Japanese coverage of the festival.[14](https://www.show-hey-cinema.com/library/5e157a5dbd16fed77998ba70/5fbe04d25ae2610a7da74c99.pdf)
## References
1. [Wife of a Spy (2020) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/awards/)
2. [スパイの妻〈劇場版〉, Hulu Japan](https://www.hulu.jp/wife-of-a-spy)
3. [スパイの妻 劇場版：作品情報, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/93378/)
4. [Wife of a Spy, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wife_of_a_spy)
5. [Wife of a Spy (2020) – Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11917942/criticreviews/)
6. [Kiyoshi Kurosawa on why he hopes 'Wife Of A Spy' will create some controversy at home in Japan, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kiyoshi-kurosawa-on-why-he-hopes-wife-of-a-spy-will-create-some-controversy-at-home-in-japan/5153280.article)
7. [Film Comment Recommends: Wife of a Spy](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-comment-recommends-wife-of-a-spy/)
8. [スパイの妻＜劇場版＞, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/172130/-/01)
9. [Wife of a Spy review – wartime mystery thriller of double and triple dealing, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/06/wife-of-a-spy-review-kiyoshi-kurosawa)
10. [Wife of a Spy, Kino Lorber Theatrical](https://kinolorber.com/film/wife-of-a-spy)
11. [Wife of a Spy – Press Kit (Director's Statement), Kino Lorber](https://kinolorberbucket.s3.amazonaws.com/production/documents/Wife%20of%20a%20Spy%20%E2%80%93%20Press%20Kit%20FINAL.pdf)
12. [Wife of a Spy, Japanese Film Database (JFDB)](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/9128)
13. ['Wife Of A Spy': Venice Review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/wife-of-a-spy-venice-review/5153001.article)
14. [桜の季節 (film blog on the Venice award), Show-hey Cinema](https://www.show-hey-cinema.com/library/5e157a5dbd16fed77998ba70/5fbe04d25ae2610a7da74c99.pdf)
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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 thrillers and spy films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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