Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
(Fukushu suruwa wareniari)
Country: JAP
Technical: col 140m
Director: Shohei Imamura
Cast: Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho
Synopsis:
The career of a serial killer of Japanese catholic upbringing who appears to kill only incidentally for monetary gain, but rather takes a curious pleasure in the murder of people for whom he has no particular antipathy, culminating in the strangulation of his mistress.
Review:
A chilling case study which begins with two bloody and brutal stabbings and then goes back to delve into our antihero's familial past and finally focus on his landing in a cheap dosshouse and striking up a relationship with its much put-upon landlady. The lead is brilliantly convincing as the unrepentant, Don Giovanni-like charmer, but equally compelling are the portraits of his extranged wife and her father-in-law, the two of whom live together in a 'look but don't touch' state of mutual devotion. Altogether a striking picture of a working class contemporary Japan.
(Fukushu suruwa wareniari)
Country: JAP
Technical: col 140m
Director: Shohei Imamura
Cast: Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho
Synopsis:
The career of a serial killer of Japanese catholic upbringing who appears to kill only incidentally for monetary gain, but rather takes a curious pleasure in the murder of people for whom he has no particular antipathy, culminating in the strangulation of his mistress.
Review:
A chilling case study which begins with two bloody and brutal stabbings and then goes back to delve into our antihero's familial past and finally focus on his landing in a cheap dosshouse and striking up a relationship with its much put-upon landlady. The lead is brilliantly convincing as the unrepentant, Don Giovanni-like charmer, but equally compelling are the portraits of his extranged wife and her father-in-law, the two of whom live together in a 'look but don't touch' state of mutual devotion. Altogether a striking picture of a working class contemporary Japan.
(Fukushu suruwa wareniari)
Country: JAP
Technical: col 140m
Director: Shohei Imamura
Cast: Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho
Synopsis:
The career of a serial killer of Japanese catholic upbringing who appears to kill only incidentally for monetary gain, but rather takes a curious pleasure in the murder of people for whom he has no particular antipathy, culminating in the strangulation of his mistress.
Review:
A chilling case study which begins with two bloody and brutal stabbings and then goes back to delve into our antihero's familial past and finally focus on his landing in a cheap dosshouse and striking up a relationship with its much put-upon landlady. The lead is brilliantly convincing as the unrepentant, Don Giovanni-like charmer, but equally compelling are the portraits of his extranged wife and her father-in-law, the two of whom live together in a 'look but don't touch' state of mutual devotion. Altogether a striking picture of a working class contemporary Japan.