• Release year: 1997
• Director: Shôhei Imamura.
• Producers: Hisashi Iino and Yukio Nihira.
• Screenplay by: Shôhei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, and Motofumi Tomikawa.
• Cinematography by: Shigeru Komatsubara.
• Music by: Shinichirô Ikebe.

Shotgun Commentary: unexpectedly wholesome, frustrating at times, but overall philosophically beautiful.

Review

The Eel follows a man who tries to build a peaceful existence after finishing his jail sentence. It is a gorgeous story about community, facing your demons and striving to do and be better.

Context

The story beings with Takuro Yamashita (Kôji Yakusho). He is a man who likes to go fishing at night after coming back from his work shift. That is, until he finds out that his wife cheats on him the nights he’s away. He comes back earlier than usual one night and catches her in the act, which leads him to kill her in a jealousy fit. Straight after, he goes to the police station and confesses, giving the officers the murder weapon.

The next we know of Takuro is eight years later, when he is released from jail. The guards give him his pet eel, and he is sent off into the world, hand in hand with his parole officer and some hairdressing skills. He opens a barber shop that soon becomes the meeting point for all outcasts of the area, inadvertently becoming the root of a community.

The real deal

Hard as it is to imagine, the real story begins there. All the drama that has been previously described is but the backdrop for it. The actual narrative is but a reflection of life itself. In particular, the life of a man with a past that haunts him and an uncertain future. His present is delicate, based on the incomplete image people have of him, an image he’s scared to fully reveal.

As such, he is quite reserved, but his evolution is clear. He is no longer the insecure man he was at the beginning of the feature. Or, at least, he is trying not to be. In fact, his current demeanour is quite similar to that of Perfect Day’s (2023) protagonist, also played by Yakusho. The depth of Yamashita’s portrayal is a sight worth seeing.

On the one hand, the character has been written with obvious care and dedication. But on the other, Yakusho’s understanding of it brings Yamashita to a whole new level. His work being so flawless that you can’t believe it is a fictional person you are watching.

Proper writing

Although not in the same league, the supporting characters are also an absolute delight. They are flawed and lost in life, but that only makes them more charming. You love and hate them like you would any real person, understanding as much as they let you see, but never quite getting to figure them out fully. This lack of definition is what separates them from the average supporting character.

Usually, supporting characters are treated as mere echoes for the protagonists, while here the structure is a lot more familiar, a lot more real. The people around you are no more your supporting characters than you are theirs, a concept that works in real life but is rarely seen in cinema. However, in this particular movie, you do get the notion that each person is their own main character, regardless of their time on screen. A truly wonderful feat that makes this film incredibly special.

In-depth explorations

The main topics that are brought up, aside from the importance of community, are the concepts of home and jealousy. The first is mentioned from a fascinating point of view.

Contrary to the usual narratives where home is a place or a person, this feature proposes that “home” is ever-changing. It is a particular moment in time, a group of peers that get together for a few months never to be together again, a random place where you live for a couple of weeks… It can be anything and anywhere. And it is not permanent. Home is as fleeting as the moments you live.

As for the second topic, it is approached in a more traditional way, but still prompts you to think of it differently. Jealousy is personified by one character, a man who knew the protagonist in jail, but who hasn’t been able to thrive after that experience. Because of this, he is really jealous of Yamashita.

Still, that topic is made a lot juicier by making this man the negative reflection of Yamashita. He is but what the protagonist could have been had he not found a way to reform himself. For that, he hates Yamashita and Yamashita fears him, not because of what the ex-con can do, but because he embodies a dreadful possibility that Yamashita doesn’t want to face.

All in all, The Eel is the type of film that gives a lot more than it takes. You will be happy to invest a small part of your time in it as the experience is more than worth it.

Radiance Films released a high-definition Blu-ray of The Eel the 24th of March in the UK.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High-Definition digital transfer
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Contains both the Theatrical cut (117 mins.) and rarely seen Director’s cut (134 mins.)
• Interview with critic Tony Rayns (2024)
• Interview with screenwriter Daisuke Tengan (2024)
• Visual essay by Tom Mes on the year 1997 as a turning point in Japanese cinema (2024)
• Trailer
• Newly improved English subtitle translation
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition booklet featuring a newly translated 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

Find the Radiance release right here!

Advice to take from this movie:

• Old people should have better security for their money, especially if they have dementia.
• Rumours can shape reality if you let them.
• There is nothing more enthralling to watch than a well-written character performed by an actor who fully understands the assignment.

What’s your take? Have you watched The Eel? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀