Now available from Radiance Films
A man who killed his cheating wife is sent to prison. When he is released, he has to find meaning to his life and make a living, so he opens a barbershop and brings in his pet eel from the prison.
Written by Shôhei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa, based on the novel “Glimmering in the Dark/Yami ni hirameku”, and directed by Shôhei Imamura, The Eel is one of those drama films that should not pull you in this easily and keep you watching as simply as it does. Here, the film starts with an adulterer who gets murdered, then things shift to prison and soon to release where we get for follow the murdered as he rebuilds his life. The story here is not a happy one, not one with jolly good moments, there are in fact very few moments of levity that allow the viewer to chill and enjoy. This is a drama through and through and it makes the most of its story which pulls the viewer in and doesn’t let them go until the credits roll. This is the kind of films that remind one of what international and indie films of the late 1990s were life. There is a lot here, yet it has a quiet about it that is mesmerizing. The writing is solid, and the direction is on point. The film is exactly as the filmmakers wanted it to be, it has a message, but the story is the journey, and the journey is the goal here.
The cast works great in some almost erased performances in some cases, giving performances that fit the story and bring a quiet softness to the story that works great in helping the viewer get into the story and perhaps even connect with the characters. In the lead is Kôji Yakusho who is fantastic here. He gives one of those performances that are memorable for how low key and nuanced it is. He becomes his character and gives him that reality that makes the film what it is here. He is the center of everything, and he makes the most of it while not looking like he is trying to at all. Joining him as the young woman who becomes his shop assistant and his assistant in general is Misa Shimizu who is excellent here. She imbues her part with great emotions and makes the stoicism of Kôji Yakusho become more powerful next to her show of emotions that are also low key but work great here. She’s the heart of the film, the lens through which Kôji Yakusho’s character and performance are developed and amplified. These two sell the film from the start and they make it one that is needing to be seen.
The cinematography by Shigeru Komatsubara takes all that is put in front of it and makes it become a film, makes it into images that the viewer will want to watch. The color palette here is somewhat limited, the lighting looks to be mostly natural, and the images created from theses are mesmerizing. There is a lot here and all works within the framing of a master cinematographer. The film has its own look, its own personality, and so much more in large part due to the images created here.
The Eel is a fantastically sad film that plays in nuances and subtleties, making it something that is so much more than yet another sad film about a crime and regrets. There is a lot in here and it makes The Eel into a film that needs to be watched multiple times to be fully grasped.
As for this new release from Radiance Films, it looks great. The definition is on point and so is the transfer. The sound works well and shows that more recent films do tend to better lend themselves to restorations (of course). Here, the new release has new art by Time Tomorrow that is quite pretty and subdued, with a bunch of extras on the disc itself of course. The top of the crop of the disc extras are the interview with Daisuke Tengan and the new improved subtitles. There are an interview and new writing from film scholars for those who love these and the physical booklet in the box with the disc has an archival interview with Shôhei Imamura. A decent release all around.
