What starts out as intriguing turns into simply baffling.
The Eel (1997)
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... 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 as a barber, he encounters several unusual characters, including a young man who hopes to attract UFOs and a woman with a troubled past who tries to reel him in with delicious lunch boxes. Yamashita, however, is obsessed with his pet eel, his only companion during his years in prison. In his previous films (THE INSECT WOMAN, BALLAD OF NARAYAMA), Imamura has often suggested the closeness between humans and animals; in THE EEL, he takes the connection one step further, having his main character carry on hilarious dialogues with his pet. Based on the novel YAMI NI HIRAMEKU by Akira Yoshimura, the film marks Imamura's triumphant return to filmmaking after an eight-year break. When the film won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Imamura became one of only three directors to have won the honor twice. [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Ken Kobayashi, Fujio Tokita, Akira Emoto
Screenwriter: Shohei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa
Producer: Hiso Ino
DVD Info
Release:
Apr 9, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 1.85
- Single Side - Dual Layer
Additional Release Material:
- Trailers - 1. Original U.S. Theatrical Trailer
- Profiles - 1. Cast
- 2. Shohei Imamura - Director
- Filmographies - 1. Cast
- 2. Shohei Imamura - Director
Interactivity:
- Scene Access
Reviews
Imamura composed The Eel with an artist's eye and takes his time, so don't expect a fast-paced American-style film.
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.
It sounds nuts, but one of the best movies in town is about the relationship of a man with his eel.
An interesting film that works most effectively as an introspective study of how to deal with one's anger and love.
Yakusho gives a good performance in the lead role but the screenplay does not go beneath the surface of the characters.
In a way, The Eel is very much like Black Rain, and nearly as great.
This simple, sinuous fable may not be among Imamura's greatest films ... but it could hardly have been made by anyone else.
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...
An oddly affecting and haunting film, thanks to the deliberate pacing and an appropriately enigmatic starring turn by actor Koji Yakusho.
If the film stumbles before the climax, perhaps it's because Imamura has inserted too many distracting subplots which somehow feel gauche and overcooked.


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