The devastating revelation of what Yusaku is really keeping hidden-or, perhaps, trying to expose-puts a political frame around the action while calling back to the apocalyptic horrors of Kurosawa's previous genre masterpieces.

The smooth Yusaku drives the action, but the film's soul is Satoko, a woman in love who just wants to do the right thing.

Kurosawa hits high marks by staring a story straight in the eyes, and finessing every narrative bump to deliver the smoothest, most satisfying historical drama you're likely to see this fall.

Like Cure, Tokyo Sonata, and other films considered Kurosawa’s best, the controversial final moments of Wife of a Spy call into question how our better natures may conflict with the morals of the people we care about most.