THE EEL (1997)
Label: Radiance Films
Region Code: A,B
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 113 Minutes 38 Seconds
Audio: Japanese PCM 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Shohei Imamura
Cast: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho
In the Eel (1997), salary man Takuro Yamashita (Kôji Yakusho, Tampopo) has been receiving anonymous letters indicating that his wife (Chiho Terada) has been unfaithful to him. Returning home from fishing one night he discovers her in bed with another man, and he brutally stabs her to death. he the calmly rides his bike to the local police station, turning himself in for the crime of passion. He serves eight years and is then paroled, remanded to his parole officer Reverend Jiro Nakajima (Fujio Tokita, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo) and warned to keep his nose clean. Nakajima takes him back to his small village where he can ply the barber trade he learned in prison, setting up shop in a rundown building. he keeps mostly to himself, his only real friend is a pet eel he acquired in prison, that he keep in an aquarium at the barbershop, which he talks to to often, seemingly his only friend. The barbershop becomes a local focal point for the village, though Takuro mostly keeps to himself, keeping his distance, but occasionally spending time with a couple of the locals, including a kind-hearted builder named Takasaki (Akira Emoto, Shin Godzilla) who takes him fishing, and a loner UFO enthusiast named Misaki (Ken Kobayashi, 47 Ronin). A turning point comes when Tokuro discovers the unconscious body a young woman named Keiko (Misa Shimizu, 47 Ronin) who has attempted suicide by pills, but due to his actions she survives. She ends up working at his barbershop at the suggestion of his parole officer's wife, and she brings style and a much needed woman's touch to the place that proves good for business. Tokuro keeps his distance from her despite her seemingly amorous intentions, part of the problem is that she reminds him of the young wife he murdered, and her own mental health is eroded by fears of mental illness that she worries she has inherited from her unstable mother. Not helping matters for either are the attentions of her ex boyfriend, the abusive Eiji (Tomorô Taguchi, Tetsuo, the Iron Man), and the stalkerish presence of Yuji (Shô Aikawa, Pulse) who served time alongside Tokuro in prison, who is now working as a garbageman, and who feels that Tokuru is not repentant enough about the murder of his wife, which somehow translates into him attacking Keiko.
It's an engrossing watch, full of eccentric local characters, shot with a naturalistic style, but punctuated with that nasty bit of knife-violence at the start of the film, and some slightly surreal moments, mostly involving Tokuro's interactions with his beloved pet eel, whom he talks to constantly. it's very low-key, but I was quite taken by the story, and by the oddball characters that populate the village, and how it all came out of him brutally murdering his wife, and how he begins to question if the letters he received about his wife ever existed at all, which also calls into question the reality of certain characters and happenings throughout the film.
Audio/Video: The Eel (1997) makes it's Blu-ray debut from Radiance Films in 1080p HD framed in 1.85;1 widescreen, offering both the 117-min theatrical version and the longer 134-min director's cut, with the theatrical cut. The image is strong and look like pleasing in HD, it's not a razor sharp image, looking naturally soft with a natural looking aesthetic. the theatrical cut incorporates some SD footage, which is detailed in the liner notes, so there is an occasional dip in quality, but nothing ruinous. The Japanese mono audio sounds wonderful, the melancholic score, dialogue exchanges and brief moments of onscreen action like the opening murder scenes and a later barbershop commotion all come through well balanced and clean.
Extras include a 27-min Interview with critic Tony Rayns, and 8-min Interview with screenwriter Daisuke Tengan, plus a 13-min Visual essay by Tom Mes on the year 1997 that makes the case for it being a turning point in Japanese cinema. the single-disc release arrives in a clear, full-height Scanavo keepcase with a reversible wrap featuring original and new artwork created by Time Tomorrow. This limited edition set also includes the Removable Obi Strip, plus a Limited Edition 20-Page Illustrated Booklet that features an archival interview with Imamura, archival writing on the film by Andrea Grunert from 2019, as well as the usual cast and crew credits and notes about the transfer.
Special Features:
- Interview with critic Tony Rayns (27;31)
- Interview with screenwriter Daisuke Tengan (18:15)
- Visual essay by Tom Mes on the year 1997 as a turning point in Japanese cinema (13:22)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited Edition 24-Page Booklet featuring an archival interview with Imamura
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray:
Extras;
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