Unagi

English title: The Eel

Genre: psychological drama

With: Kôji Yakusho (Takuro Yamashita), Misa Shimizu (Keiko Hattori, the suicidal girl),  Fujio Tokita (Jiro Nakajima, the parole officer), Mitsuko Baishô (Misako Nakajima, the parole officer’s wife), Show Aikawa (Yuji Nozawa), Ken Kobayashi (Masaki Saito, the neighbourhood nuisance), Sabu Kawahara (Seitaro Misato), Akira Emoto (Tamotsu Takasaki, a former convict), Tomorô Taguchi (Eiji Dojima, Keiko’s ex-boyfriend)

Director: Shôhei Imamura

Screenplay: Shôhei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan and Motofumi Tomikawa (based on Akira Yoshimura’s novel)

Release: 1997

Studio: Eisei Gekijo, Groove Corporation, Imamura Productions et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.4/10 

 

‟He listens to what I say. He doesn’t say what I don’t want to hear.” 

 

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Story-line: in the summer of 1988, Takuro Yamashita, a trader for the Hinode Flour Corporation, makes a huge mistake after discovering his wife’s secret. Eight years later, having paid his debt to society, he endeavours to build a new life for himself in Sawara with the help of his parole officer and the pet eel he adopted while behind bars.

Pluses: fine acting all around, attentive direction, a slightly odd but ever thoughtful screenplay that develops its characters fully and measuredly through astute dialogues and interplay, appropriate production values, beautiful cinematography, a sweet musical score and a very charming ending.

Minuses: long ago, when I first heard about this movie, I thought it depicted some weirdo love affair between a guy and a fish… but nothing is further from the truth! THE EEL is a straightforward drama about redemption and doing the right thing. As for the eel itself, the more you look at it, the more you’ll understand Yamashita: that quiet bugger in the aquarium is likeable indeed. On the negative side, the film suffers from a lull after its first act but picks up very nicely halfway through when it sheds new light on the protagonist’s past and personality. 

Comments: as Yamashita finds out what to do with his life, you can feel his wariness and doubts: he wants to start anew and isn’t looking for trouble. His new surroundings, however, will bring back dark memories and muster new threats that he must avert as best he can. Modest, short on flash and long on humanity, THE EEL is a curious and refreshing film that warms your soul with its inherent tenderness. 

 

MBiS 

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