On the 50th anniversary of Cannes comes a Competition entrant that easily might have played in the first festival -- such is its mind-set and aesthetic. The story of an ex-con and a jilted woman, "Unagi" is a generally unremarkable story of two people whose psychological scars get in the way of a potential relationship. Overall, the film's 1950s-style socio/sexual sensibility will not likely appeal to U.S. audiences.
"Unagi" begins most savagely as young Takuro (Koji Yakusho) catches his wife in bed with a lover and hacks them both to death with a fishing knife. Not remorseful about his deed but respectful of the law, Takuro turns himself in.
With the brutal murder as prologue, the main narrative occurs eight years later, after Takuro has been paroled from prison. Upon his release, he relocates to a provincial town, where he sets up a barbershop. His only concern and interest seem to be with the pet eel he kept while imprisoned. While scouting the local swamp, he finds a young woman, Keiko (Misa Shimizu), who has overdosed on sleeping pills in a suicide attempt. While he is concerned about possibly getting into trouble in this situation, he selflessly calls for help and she is saved.
As so often happens when three screenwriters are credited, the scenario seems to be an amalgam of committee-think with no overriding point of view or moral sense attached to the film. Proceeding in an utterly predictable fashion -- Keiko becomes attracted to her "savior," goes to work in his barber ship and lights up the place -- the story never scratches beneath the characters' psychological surfaces. And, regrettably, it seems padded with Spielbergean "moments" and sequences, including a Japanese version of Richard Dreyfuss' character in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
What lifts "Unagi" beyond its generic dimensions are the solid performances, particularly Shimizu, who is enchantingly brittle as Keiko.
As the stiff and upright ex-con, Yakusho evinces a proud demeanor but shows the frailty of a man plagued by his dogmatic personality.
Shohei Imamura's workmanlike direction never infuses any sense of personality or perspective other than to delineate the essential story line. It is a yarn that deserves richer and deeper treatment.
UNAGI
In competition
Eiseigekijyo Co./KKS
In association with Imamura Prods.
Director Shohei Imamura
Screenwriters Motofumi Tomikawa,
Daisuke Tengan, Shohei Imamura
Based on a story by Akira Kurosawa
Director of photography Shigeru Komatsubara
Music Shinichiro Ikebe
Editor Haijime Okayasu
Cast:
Takuro Yamashita Koji Yakusho
Keiko Hattori Misa Shimizu
Jiro Nakajima Fujio Tsuneta
Misako Nakajima Mitsuko Baisho
Jukichi Takada Makoto Sato
Tamotsu Takasaki Akira Emoto
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Unagi" begins most savagely as young Takuro (Koji Yakusho) catches his wife in bed with a lover and hacks them both to death with a fishing knife. Not remorseful about his deed but respectful of the law, Takuro turns himself in.
With the brutal murder as prologue, the main narrative occurs eight years later, after Takuro has been paroled from prison. Upon his release, he relocates to a provincial town, where he sets up a barbershop. His only concern and interest seem to be with the pet eel he kept while imprisoned. While scouting the local swamp, he finds a young woman, Keiko (Misa Shimizu), who has overdosed on sleeping pills in a suicide attempt. While he is concerned about possibly getting into trouble in this situation, he selflessly calls for help and she is saved.
As so often happens when three screenwriters are credited, the scenario seems to be an amalgam of committee-think with no overriding point of view or moral sense attached to the film. Proceeding in an utterly predictable fashion -- Keiko becomes attracted to her "savior," goes to work in his barber ship and lights up the place -- the story never scratches beneath the characters' psychological surfaces. And, regrettably, it seems padded with Spielbergean "moments" and sequences, including a Japanese version of Richard Dreyfuss' character in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
What lifts "Unagi" beyond its generic dimensions are the solid performances, particularly Shimizu, who is enchantingly brittle as Keiko.
As the stiff and upright ex-con, Yakusho evinces a proud demeanor but shows the frailty of a man plagued by his dogmatic personality.
Shohei Imamura's workmanlike direction never infuses any sense of personality or perspective other than to delineate the essential story line. It is a yarn that deserves richer and deeper treatment.
UNAGI
In competition
Eiseigekijyo Co./KKS
In association with Imamura Prods.
Director Shohei Imamura
Screenwriters Motofumi Tomikawa,
Daisuke Tengan, Shohei Imamura
Based on a story by Akira Kurosawa
Director of photography Shigeru Komatsubara
Music Shinichiro Ikebe
Editor Haijime Okayasu
Cast:
Takuro Yamashita Koji Yakusho
Keiko Hattori Misa Shimizu
Jiro Nakajima Fujio Tsuneta
Misako Nakajima Mitsuko Baisho
Jukichi Takada Makoto Sato
Tamotsu Takasaki Akira Emoto
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 5/13/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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