Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2023)

Evil Does Not Exist [Aku wa sonzai shinai]
(Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2023, 106 min, Japan, Japanese with English subtitles, DCP)

-- Introduced by Prof. Kimberly Hassel (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies)

In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency’s plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow up to his Academy Award-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.

Winner of the Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) at the 2023 Venice Film Festival

“It’s about how the indigo darkness of a forest at night becomes a blanket, and about how the arrival of strangers can change a place (or change the strangers), and about the idea of something precious being forever lost. ” – Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

"As he's done before, Hamaguchi gives us characters who are too complicated and richly drawn to be reduced to any one type. Yet that doesn't explain how hauntingly different this movie feels from his other work." – Justin Chang, NPR

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