Vibe
The Man Who Stole the Sun begins with an absurd premise and then keeps asking how far it can be pushed before absurdity becomes terror. Makoto Kido, a bored high-school science teacher played by rock star Kenji Sawada, secretly builds an atomic bomb in his apartment. He does not possess a coherent political program. His demands can be trivial, even childish, which is exactly what makes the bomb frightening: world-altering power has been detached from any stable ideology. Opposite him is Bunta Sugawara’s Inspector Yamashita, a square-jawed embodiment of authority whose ability to survive catastrophe becomes nearly as surreal as Kido’s project. Kazuhiko Hasegawa and co-writer Leonard Schrader make the film sprawl across tones—political satire, procedural bomb-building, black comedy, police thriller, pop-star vehicle and huge action spectacle. Japan Society’s 2026 retrospective emphasizes guerrilla-shot set pieces at major Tokyo locations and Hasegawa’s personal connection to the nuclear age. The 147 minutes do not feel like stately epic length because the movie keeps mutating, mirroring a protagonist who gains unimaginable leverage before deciding what he actually wants. The setup alone is irresistible to explain to friends, and the execution refuses to become the sober message movie the premise suggests. It has stunts, chases, black humor and a Rolling Stones demand, yet the radiation and political implications keep darkening the joke.
Watch for
- Watch the careful, mundane detail of Kido assembling the bomb; procedural realism makes later absurd demands more unsettling.
- Track the contrast between Sawada’s countercultural teacher and Sugawara’s rigid inspector; their bodies embody competing Japans.
- Notice how real Tokyo locations give outrageous action a documentary friction rather than polished blockbuster distance.
- Watch Kido’s relationship to power change; the bomb first feels like liberation from boredom and then becomes contamination.
Production notes
Japan Society’s 2026 Hasegawa retrospective presents the film as the director’s second and ultimately final feature, born from an idea by Leonard Schrader and co-written with Hasegawa. The program notes emphasize guerrilla-shot sequences at the National Diet, Imperial Palace and Shibuya Tokyu Department Store, as well as Hasegawa’s personal relationship to the atomic legacy of Hiroshima. Film at Lincoln Center lists the film at 147 minutes and highlights its oscillation between political commentary, black comedy and full-scale action. The casting itself is part of the design: Kenji Sawada’s pop-star image opposes Bunta Sugawara’s hardened postwar masculinity.
Trivia
- Japan Society identifies it as Hasegawa’s second and final feature as director.
- The original idea came from Leonard Schrader, who co-wrote with Hasegawa.
- Kenji Sawada plays science teacher Makoto Kido opposite Bunta Sugawara’s police inspector.
- One of Kido’s notorious demands involves getting the Rolling Stones to perform in Japan.
- Japan Society notes guerrilla-shot set pieces at major Tokyo locations including the National Diet and Imperial Palace.
Legacy
The Man Who Stole the Sun has grown into a cult landmark partly because it is so difficult to reduce to a genre. Its nuclear premise belongs to postwar Japanese cinema, its anti-authoritarian energy to the 1970s, its star casting to pop culture, and its action scale anticipates a different kind of blockbuster. Hasegawa’s tiny directorial filmography only intensifies its aura. Recent institutional retrospectives and restored screenings have reinforced its stature.