In the opening sequence of Koreyoshi Kurahara’s dreamy Ore wa matteru ze (US: I Am Waiting), a faceless man whistles as he strolls along the docks on a foggy night, pausing when he spies a plaintive, shivering young woman staring at the water as if preparing to jump. This encounter forges the dramatic bond between two losers (one a disgraced boxer, the other a voiceless singer) who both admire and resist each other and will later learn they share a criminal connection. With his boxing license revoked for beating a man to death, Jōji Shimaki (Yujiro Ishihara) now owns a small tavern where he offers a job to his new friend Saeko (Mie Kitahara), who we learn is running from the gangsters who own the club where she sang before losing her voice. Jōji’s planning to close the bar and join his brother on a farm in Brazil, but the best laid plans often go awry, especially when murder’s involved. Cinematography, lighting, and production design combine to make this a beautiful film that alternates between romantic drama and nihilistic noir (“Even if we feel in love now, we’ll end up feeling nothing inside”), culminating in an intensely violent confrontation in which Jōji’s boxing skills reappear with a vengeance.