What starts out as intriguing turns into simply baffling.
Comment
01/01/00
The Eel (1997)
75 %
Reviews Counted: 24 Fresh: 18 Rotten:6 Average Rating: 7/10
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Synopsis: With THE EEL, director Shohei Imamura shows that eels are not just a tasty sushi treat but also a symbol of the human condition. Yamashita (Koji Yakusho) kills his unfaithful wife and turns himself in to the police. Eight years later he is paroled and must try to find redemption. Setting up shop... [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Ken Kobayashi, Fujio Tokita, Akira Emoto
Director: Shohei Imamura
Screenwriter: Shohei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa
Producer: Hiso Ino
Screenwriter: Shohei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa
Producer: Hiso Ino
Reviews
Top Critic
Imamura composed The Eel with an artist's eye and takes his time, so don't expect a fast-paced American-style film.
07/02/04
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04/17/02
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03/14/02
This excellent drama, based on a novel, reveals the beginning of a relationship between two souls who are trying to move beyond the wounds of the past.
03/02/02
Top Critic
It sounds nuts, but one of the best movies in town is about the relationship of a man with his eel.
01/01/00
An interesting film that works most effectively as an introspective study of how to deal with one's anger and love.
01/01/00
Yakusho gives a good performance in the lead role but the screenplay does not go beneath the surface of the characters.
01/01/00
This simple, sinuous fable may not be among Imamura's greatest films ... but it could hardly have been made by anyone else.
01/01/00
Just when it seems like 'The Eel' is going to settle into a standard love-conquers-fear tale, the writers begin coloring in the characters, revealing their secrets and insecurities. The results are sometimes shocking and sometimes funny...
01/01/00
An oddly affecting and haunting film, thanks to the deliberate pacing and an appropriately enigmatic starring turn by actor Koji Yakusho.
01/01/00
If the film stumbles before the climax, perhaps it's because Imamura has inserted too many distracting subplots which somehow feel gauche and overcooked.
01/01/00
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