Vengeance Is Mine

Reviewer: Dylan de Thomas
Rating (out of 5): ****

The American perception of the culture of Japan and Japanese film sometimes presents the people of that island nation as somewhat inscrutable, mystical folk - as wondrously humanistic as Ozu's films are, his protagonists can feel as metaphorically far away from contemporary American life as Japan literally is. The Japanese people that fill the films of Shohei Imamura, however, are fully human, not beholden to the ancient codes of their forefathers, working their topknots and holding intricately beautiful tea ceremonies but rather as people that scrape by and curse their parents, eat and work, kill and screw.

Based on a true story of Akira Nishiguchi (named Iwao Enokizu in the movie), a sociopathic killer who went on a 78-day crime/killing spree in 1964, Vengeance Is Mine is a bracing view of Imamura's Japan. The film itself follows a novelistic structure, opening with Enokizu's capture by the police, and then flashing back to give the viewer chapters in his life. As we then follow Enokizu (Ken Ogata) through his troubled youth, the film is vibrantly prurient, foul, melodramatic and occasionally even funny.

Vengeance is photographed with a documentary-like shooting style, with long, static takes, giving the sensation of Imamura watching the characters with a cool, detached eye - heightened by camera placement often positioned above eye-level, literally looking down on the characters - as they themselves may be devolving into a fevered pitch.

So much of the film is presented in such a matter-of-fact manner, it inspires a similar emotional response from the viewer. As opposed to being terrified by Enokizu, the audience is instead left wondering what he will do next. His killing spree is not presented as a matter of his becoming unhinged, but rather more as if he's decided to no longer stop himself from doing whatever he wishes. No real motive is given to Enokizu throughout the film, further allowing the viewer to join Imamura in studying this curious specimen.

Like the last Asian-language film I reviewed, this is based on true-life events, and the typical western viewer is going to be caught somewhat at a loss (as I was) in terms of the cultural notes touched on. That said, Imamura has such an ear for verisimilitude, the characters populating his film are immediately recognizable, and no deep knowledge of the culture is needed to appreciate his directorial touch, and this masterful film.

See also: The Pornographers, In Cold Blood, The Onion Field, The Honeymoon Killers