Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Movie Information:

Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Directed by: Shohei Imamura Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Written by: Masaru Baba, Ryuzo Saki Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Cast: Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Chocho Miyako, Moeko Ezawa, Torahiko Hamada, Shohei Hino, Yoshi Kato

Vengeance Is Mine (1979) U.S. Distributor: Shochiku Films Ltd Vengeance Is Mine (1979) U.K. Distributor: Cult! Film Distribution

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Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Synopsis:

Based on the true story, 'Vengeance is Mine' is the story of Iwao Enokizu and his murderous rampage which sparked a 78-day nationwide manhunt. Enokizu is a day-laborer and smalltime con-artist who, after killing two of his co-workers, embarks on a psychopathic spree of rape and murder. Eluding the police and public, Japan's infamous "King of Criminals" passes himself off as a Kyoto University professor, only to become entangled with an innkeeper and her perverted mother.

Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Movie Review:

A masterpiece of Japanese cinema, Imamura's profile of a vicious sociopath boldly digs into the soul (or lack thereof) of its central character and post-war Japan. Gripping and haunting, it's a strikingly timeless film.

After watching the government undermine his father's business, Iwao Enokizu (Ogata) has led a life of rebellion and mayhem. Now in 1963, at age 37, he turns to murder and theft, going on a cross-country rampage starting with the sudden killing of two friends (Baba and Shibata), heaping even more humiliation on his parents (Baisho and Miyako) and his achingly lonely wife (Mikuni). While the manhunt widens, he hides with an ex-con innkeeper (Kiyokawa) and her daughter (Ogawa), who pays the bills with sex.

The story's told out of sequence, with flashbacks swirling around scenes of Iwao's police interrogation and the narrative backbone of his murderous odyssey. But this is more than a crime thriller; it really digs into the characters' desperation, agony, action and inaction. The one exception is Iwao himself--he is a smiling, heartless, compulsive criminal without even a hint of a conscience. He seems to murder simply because he doesn't have the imagination to do anything else. Vengeance is his feeble excuse.

And putting such a merciless black hole at the centre of the film is what makes it so remarkable. Ogata is note-perfect--we can see why people are drawn to his intelligence and charm, even as we know he's up to no good at all. All around him, the strong cast vividly expose their Christian guilt, misplaced passions and family dysfunction. We can see why Iwao seems to be such a ray of hope to them, even though he's brazenly throwing life away.

Imamura films with style and energy, combining snappy humour and creepy subtext. It's electric right from the start, taunting us with its expressive visual imagery and jazzy Dragnet-style score. And the themes gurgling underneath the plot give the film a strong depth, mainly in the economic and religious issues that create a society that requires a seedy undercurrent to maintain the shiny surfaces. Utterly essential cinema.

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Vengeance Is Mine (1979) review written by: Rich Cline