The Eel [DVD] [1997]

I greatly enjoy the quirkiness of a certain style of Japanese (and Korean) film making. While this is not as quirky as most, it is off-beat enough to make it of that distinctively Japanese genre. I tried to imagine Western actors in such a film, and I came to the conclusion that it would fail, that I would have switched off early on; it's the very nature of the Japanese actors and actresses themselves that lend so much to this film. The buildings, though familiar in name, are characteristically alien in both composition and setting to the western mind: a prison that has a pond where the warders are willing to risk sanction by pretending the eponymous eel is their pet; a barbers located apparently in the middle of nowhere that somehow seems to thrive. Throw in an assortment of eccentrics and you have a very pleasant (though somewhat gorey) and entertaining film; above all, it posesses originality.

A man's crime of passion and rehabilitation is engagingly portrayed as he regains trust in himself and his new life when a young woman rocks his boat.The parallel life of an eel (his confidant) with it's journey in the wild adds the quirky japanese moral undertone.Like a zen tea ceremony where everything has to drop into place for true serenity this feel good film similar to Tampopo where the struggle is to find happiness through the perfect bowl of noodles.

This film sounded quite interesting - man kills unfaithful wife, serves his time, feels alienated, prefers to avoid people. So a reasonable start, but it turns into a slow lacklustre run-of-the-mill drama which descends into farce during a punch-up at the barber's shop. The uninspired script gives Koji Yakusho and the lovely Misa Shimizu very little to get their teeth into. It's watchable but nothing much happens. And the eel? He talks to his pet eel a couple of times. And that's it really. Maybe two and a half stars.

Great film. Bad quality DVD release by Artificial eye.

Takuro Yamashita(Koji Yakusho)is released from prison after serving 8 yrs for killing his adulterous wife.He leaves with his only friend in the world,yep the eel.He decides to open a barber shop in a less than ideal spot but soon a clientale of sorts materialises with the help of assortment of oddballs and a timid woman Keiko Hattori(Misa Shimizu)who starts to develop feelings for Takuro unaware of his background and who has problems of her own in the form of a "possessive" boyfriend with Yakuza ties.The Eel is certainly not up there with Imamura's best work, it is a little stilted in places and the ending is a little unsatisfactory -Vengeance Is Mine and Pigs and Battleships are my favourites and these two together with others have had far more comprehensive releases on the Masters of Cinema label but unlike the other reviewer I am not so anal retentive about aspect ratios,extras etc.He is right to a point- Artificial Eye could have done way better with this release and the picture quality is not brilliant but he gives no attention to the actual merits of the film.If you are not familiar with Imamura's work,The Eel is a pretty good place to start.His skill with actors and ability to instill irreverence into what appears fairly sombre material is a continual source of delight to me.

Shôhei Imamura's fine film about Takuro Yamashita (Kôji Yakusho) a man who kills his wife after finding her cheating on him with another man and the woman he becomes involved with after he's released from prison and opens a barber shop.