Phone Call to the Bar

An unnamed hard-boiled private detective (played by Oizumi Yo) goes for a fateful evening out on a cold winter’s night at his favorite cocktail bar accompanied by Takada (Matsuda Ryuhei) his lazy but loyal driver and companion. After a few drinks, Takada falls asleep slumped over the bar and the phone at the bar rings. The female caller asks to speak to the detective and asks him to complete a simple-sounding task. The detective agrees – but when he goes to carry it out, he is almost buried alive under snow by a gang of thugs. He is saved at the last moment by Takada’s quick-thinking actions. The detective decides to take his revenge on the gang, but is interrupted by another phone call from the mysterious woman. This once-simple job now starts to get very complex, and he soon finds himself investigating a number of baffling murder cases, one of which involves a powerful local business leader and his beautiful wife... This film was based on the “Susukino Detective” series of books by the novelist Naomi Azuma. “Phone Call to the Bar” is a 2011 Japanese crime movie that was directed by Hajime Hashimoto.