Despite the German Expressionist influence on the genre, the roots of film noir are undoubtedly American — a morally introspective and nationally cynical mirror to the traditional western. As a whole, it’s a movement born out of an era defined by the Great Depression and the horror of World War 2: what felt like an insurmountable period of turmoil and moral rot began seeping into the celluloid unconsciously. However, just because film noir was given form by Hollywood directors, doesn’t mean the movement stayed in America.
On the contrary, it expanded out across the globe, giving audiences classic noirs from Great Britain, France, and even Japan, a nation reeling from its own unique role during World War 2. Just like Hollywood, Japan was reckoning with its national contradictions on-screen, and one classic noir in particular (directed by one of the most beloved filmmakers of all-time) is perhaps the best window into the psychological, social, and economic conditions of the nation at that time.
