The Eel Movie Review 1996

Yamashita (Yakusho) has just been paroled after spending eight years in prison for killing his adulterous wife in a jealous rage. While there, he found and cared for an eel, which became his only confidante, and which accompanies him to his new life as a barber in a small town outside Tokyo. The newcomer is soon befriended by the locals but Yamashita's life changes most when he saves the suicidal Keiko (Shimizu) from drowning. She comes to work in his shop and would obviously like a more intimate relationship but some secrets in her past and some strange incidents in the town may jepordize Yamashita's hopes for a normal life. Based on the novel "Glimmering in the Dark" by Akira Yoshimura. Japanese with subtitles.

Distribution

New Yorker Video, 16 W. 61st St., 11th Fl., New York, NY 10023, Phone: (212)645-4600, Toll-free: 800-447-0196, Fax: (212)645-3030, Email: info@newyorkerfilms.com, URL: http://www.newyorkerfilms.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 117 minutes.
Originally from Japanese.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Japan

Screenplay

Shohei Imamura, Motofumi Tomikawa, Daisuke Tengan

Cast

Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho, Shou Aikawa, Fujio Tsuneta, Akira (Tsukamoto) Emoto, Etsuko Ichihara, Tomoroh Taguchi, Ken Kobayashi, Sabu Kawahara

Cinematography

Shigeru Komatsubara

Director

Shohei Imamura

Music

Shinichiro Ikebe

Producer

Hisa Iino, Shochiku Company

Awards

Cannes 1997: Film.