Masquerading as an ecological thriller, Kurosawa’s fascinating philosophical study of the self is fractal-like in its complexity and elegance. After botching a high-profile hostage negotiation, Goro Yabuike (the phenomenal Koji Yakusho) is forced to go on vacation. After missing his bus (a la Woman in the Dunes), he encounters a rare tree specimen that one seeks to destroy, another who would protect at all costs, and government goons who seek to kill and preserve it.