A Taxing Woman

A tax investigator named Ryoko Itakura is assigned to pursue Hideki Gondo, a businessman who owns a chain of hourly hotels and has managed for years to conceal the true scale of his wealth from the authorities. What begins as a routine audit turns into an extended contest of strategy between the two, complicated by the sympathy that grows between hunter and quarry. The story blends crime procedural with satire, taking aim at tax evasion and the underground side of Japan's leisure industry.

Jūzō Itami wrote and directed the film, which followed his 1985 feature Tampopo in his filmography. Nobuko Miyamoto plays Itakura, with Tsutomu Yamazaki as Gondo; Masahiko Tsugawa, Yasuo Daichi, Kinzō Sakura and Hajime Asô appear in supporting roles, and the credited cast numbers 58. Seigo Hosogoe and Yasushi Tamaoki produced for New Century Producers and Itami Productions, and the film runs 128 minutes.

On IMDb, the film holds a rating of 7.3 from around 2,500 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.7 from roughly 43 votes. The larger and stronger audience sample on IMDb points to a durable reputation, whereas the small TMDB sample is harder to read much into. The gap between the two suggests a film that has found a steadier following among viewers who seek it out than among casual audiences.