I have just finished watching the last in this trilogy- The Trap, 2005. Where Stairway was a feeble wishy washy visually confusing poorly scripted effort, The Trap was a real movie.I really cannot figure out how anyone would find Stairway superior to The Trap, but since a few reviewers liked this film, i know i will not bother to seek the first in the trilogy. Stairway just felt off kilter through the whole piece, like a drunk who just can't get his footing. Derivative and Hat-tipping can be fun in the movies but in this film all those efforts were lifeless and clumsy and unconvincing.So my advice is- skip this film and see The Trap instead.

Mike is a crappy private detective. When the film begins, he's so broke he's forced to take cases looking for lost dogs and soon his beloved Nash Metropolitan (a car, circa 1958 or so) is repossessed. His life truly sucks and it can't possibly get worse. Then, his mother who abandoned him and his sister returns--and you learn she is a stripper. Despite this buildup, the film soon turns VERY dark and the plot involves an ethereal mobster known as "The White Man".In the 1990s, there were three 'Mika Hama' films--movies that starred a very bizarre private detective--a guy WAAAY far removed from the more famous Mike Hammer from the Mickey Spillane books. When I saw the first one, I felt perplexed but I liked enough about it to try one more of the films. Now, I am done and think it's highly unlikely I'll bother seeing the final film. Let me explain why. While each film is clearly a comedy when it begins, as the film progresses, it becomes more and more and more a dark and violent thriller. Both films are like two films in one--two written and directed by totally different people in the same film! Reading through the reviews, it's obvious some liked this--I sure didn't. I wanted to see more of the comedy.

Like a lot of great trilogies of the past, the third film always seems to be the most well put together. Stairway to the Distant Past is no exception to the rule. While The Most Terrible Time in My Life was effective due to its cheesy, noirish sensibilities and its black and white ideals, Stairway accomplishes the same effect with a harsh color palate and much darker story.Hama is much more jaded in this film, and the emotions that Nagase shows in this feature are much better defined in this installment. With a better story and tighter plot, the near perfectness of the final confrontation scene and the primary antagonist make for a strong visual experience. Needless to say, this film really can't survive without the other two, but it is still a damn good story.

Stairway to the Distant Past is the second film in the Mike Hama Private Investigator Trilogy. If you've seen part one The Most Terrible Time in My Life you must seek this out to find out how all your favourite characters are getting on. The films themes are age and family as Mikes mother "Dynamite Sexy Lilly" returns to Yokohama with her strip act many years after deserting Mike and his sister Akane. She reveals who Mikes father is and he sets out to find him. This films DoP deserves an Oscar as the picture is stunningly shot - it reminded me most of the Cinema du Look of Luc Besson and Leos Carax. Be sure to watch The Trap part three of the series.