Caveat emptor – a Latin phrase that means “Let the buyer beware”. It’s advice that, more than ever, needs to be heeded in this day and age, where the next purchase is only a tap on your phone away.

We're bombarded by ads, on every platform, so it’s no wonder we’re turning into consumer junkies.

This Japanese thriller takes an interesting look at the power of consumerism, by taking this Latin phrase and changing it to “Let the seller beware”.

For three years now Yoshii (Masaki Suda) has been working in a factory, and he’s ready to jack it in, as his boss (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) doesn’t want to promote him into management as Yoshii wants.

Yoshii already has a side hustle, of being a reseller, which he can now devote his time and attention to. It basically has him sourcing all kinds of products at lower prices, and them reselling them at a profit, and he usually does.

So much so that he decides to leave Tokyo and move into a bigger place, with his girlfriend Akiko (Kotone Furukawa), out in the countryside.

It should be an exciting new start for his business venture, but he soon discovers that being your own boss can come at a heavy price.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest is the perfect example of his style of filmmaking. It’s a film riddled with an ambiguous narrative, for the first half of it at least, before developing into something far darker.

His main protagonist Yoshii is a young man who clearly wants to be his own boss. He obviously has the ability to be one too, as he soon proves, giving him the taste of the life that he, and his girlfriend, desire.

It is measured and methodical in nature, but still manages to hold your attention, as the Japanese director slowly but surely begins to show his hand. And when he does, it’s quite the hand, coming almost out of nowhere, as it descends into a battle for survival.

The fact that the film’s narrative is very reserved only helps to make the rest of it quite an unnerving experience.

But perhaps Kurosawa is also saying “Let the audience beware”, which is certainly worth buying into with this slow-burning yet stylish and completely absorbing tale.