Vengeance Is Mine (1979) User Reviews

Personifies everything that is amazing about Japanese cinema

[fertilecelluloid · 9/10 · 2 January 2005]

Immamura Shohei, one of Japan's best directors, does not put a foot wrong in VENGEANCE IS MINE, one of the best films ever made.

This is a searing, raw, uncompromising study of a disturbed, callous, opportunistic killer, husband and son.

The film, running just over two hours, takes an almost doco-style approach to the crimes of its protagonist (played with chilling conviction by Ken Ogata) and takes great pains to examine the impact his behavior had on his mother, father and wife.

A flashback, which goes some way towards explaining how Ogata developed such a disdain for authority, is a masterstroke of cinematic brevity.

Although Immamura is known mostly for such brilliant work as THE PORNOGRAPHERS, BLACK RAIN and the excellent THE EEL, this is surely his crowning achievement, a film so rich and involving that it personifies everything that is so amazing about Japanese cinema, truly a cinema of the soul.

Vengeance Is Mine

[random_avenger · 8/10 · 22 September 2010]

In late 1963 a serial killer and conman Akira Nishiguchi gained nationwide attention in Japan by murdering five people, several of them while on the run from the police. In the late 1970s a book based on his life inspired the master director Shôhei Imamura to use his story as the basis for a cold crime film titled Vengeance Is Mine. The film starts with the capture of the killer Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) and advances non-chronologically, depicting the detectives interviewing his family and former lovers and how Enokizu first came to know them. Particularly the muted relationship of Iwao's wife Kazuko (Mitsuko Baisho) and his Catholic father Shizuo (Rentarô Mikuni) is paid attention to, so is his stay at a brothel-like inn managed by Haru Asano (Mayumi Ogawa) and her ex-con mother Hisano (Nijiko Kiyokawa). The scenes ranging from Enokizu's childhood to his time in death row cast light on what kind of man he is, but avoid serving easy, clear-cut explanations of his inner motives.

Imamura has taken an unspectacular, down-to-earth approach to his enigmatic subject. Some techniques, such as identifying the victims' names and causes of death by subtitles, are not far from the style of documentaries. While some of Enokizu's killings take place off-screen, the depicted murder scenes are not softened by turning the camera away or fading to black, making especially the sexual violence hard to watch for sensitive viewers. Still, Vengeance Is Mine is more of a character study than a crime thriller, as in the latter parts of the film the detectives' role is diminished and the focus turned to Enokizu. He is portrayed as having been belligerent and self-confident from young age, soon blossoming into a full-blown psychopath to whom other people's feelings are of little concern, as exemplified by his cruel psychological treatment of his family. Even if Iwao's basic nature is inherent, it could be possible that the suppressed atmosphere in his parents' home has affected the way he turned out: the deeply Christian father sparks Iwao's hatred for weakness and humility, prompting him to openly mock the lack of action from the family's part when feelings develop between Kazuko and Shizuo.

Besides his twisted relationship with his family, another defining element in the film is Enokizu's stay at the inn with Haru, a mistreated woman who has to look after her unreliable mother. Imamura's portrayal of Haru is highly forlorn; to her Iwao's presence represents a possibility of freedom from her gloomy life, even when his past is no longer a secret to her. It is also during this time when the stress of being a fugitive is starting to take its toll on Enokizu; he turns from a self-confident fraudster to a more serene and openly menacing figure, an interesting change as we, the audience, already know him as cocky and carefree from the first scene that has yet to happen in the story's timeline.

The very dark lighting in the interior scenes and the slow-paced, detached storytelling will alienate those expecting a suspenseful serial killer thriller, but as a flat-out drama Vengeance Is Mine provides a fascinating trip into the world of the suave killer. Ken Ogata handles the lead role with natural charm, effortlessly fitting in the various roles Enokizu assumes over the course of the film. Rentarô Mikuni also makes a great counterforce to him as the guilt-ridden father, but especially the unlucky women Haru and Hisano are powerfully brought to life by Ogawa and Kiyokawa. The visuals are not as aesthetically striking as in Imamura's earlier masterpiece Unholy Desire (1964), but the mood is so heavily tied to the reality of Japanese society in the 1960s and 70s that the depressing mundanity of the surroundings is never out of place. The only moment rising above the strictly realistic atmosphere would be the very final scene on the top of a mountain: Enokizu's spirit will remain lingering in the lives of those around him. All in all, Vengeance is Mine should not be ignored by any enthusiast of crime cinema, but admirers of slow-burning character dramas are probably the ones to find it the most rewarding.

Vintage Imamura

[jacqui-3 · 9/10 · 28 September 1999]

Far from a film that explores the "whydunit?" of a ruthless but charming murderer, Vengeance of Mine bristles with all the energies Imamura believes the real Japanese possess. These people are in lower social positions and just trying to survive the brutality of day-to-day struggles. In their energy, courage, and perseverance to survive, Vengeance of Mine becomes beautiful and captivating to watch.

Admittedly, it is quite difficult to understand such stereotypes as murderer, tempted Catholic, prostitute, pimp/hotel owners, and delivery men as eccentric individuals in the space of two hours. But oddly enough, I feel a strange sense of familiarity in the hustle and bustle of these characters in the story. They may live their lives teetering on what is considered socially acceptable or healthful, but Imamura presents them with such respect and curiosity (of an anthropologist?!) - that I cannot resist feeling their robust lives leaping off the screen. In this way their seemingly bizzare and extreme behavior are very convincing, very real, and very touching.

Highly recommended for the challenging story (flashbacks, vignettes, illogical twists and turns of story and visual), quirky pace, idyllic country scenes, and the wonderful performance of Ken Ogata.

Powerhouse!

[filho_de_oxum · 10/10 · 21 August 2000]

I think this movie is an all around tour-de-force depiction of a sociopath. All aspects of this movie are superb. The main actor gives a truly chilling and convincing portrayal of a man with no conscience, at the same time giving his character great depth and complexity. Aside from being based on true events, this cold blooded murderer is much more realistic than the clever game-playing types portrayed in such films as "Silence of the Lambs". I would highly recommend this movie to all but the squeamish.

A stark, uncompromising and brutal examination into the notions of murder

[ThreeSadTigers · 14 April 2008]

Vengeance is Mine (1979) is a truly powerful film; an elliptical reconstruction/personal examination into the criminal mind, presenting a number of potential questions as to why this character became the person that he did, but offering us nothing in the way of easy answers. It is anchored by the central performance of Ken Ogata as Iwao Enokizu, a thirty-something tearaway and con artist who one day murders two men, seemingly for financial benefit, and in the process, triggers one of the largest and most infamous manhunts in Japanese history. Whereas the story presents numerous avenues of thought and situations that recall the very best of Hollywood serial killer films, crime fiction or the cinema of investigation, the film refuses to conform to any of this; giving us a juxtaposing mood wherein elements of documentary-like realism are cross-cut with a more enigmatic element of self-reflection, memory and examination.

Given this particular presentation, Vengeance is Mine can be seen as something of a difficult film; employing a fractured timeline that takes in thirty years of Iwao's family history, as well as offering us a central narrative perspective that seems to have been woven together from a number of different, highly conflicting viewpoints. Illustrating this device, director Imamura begins the film with the capture of Iwao and his transportation back to police HQ. From here, we cut to the police inspectors interrogating the murderer, who taunts them with his flippant behaviour, uncooperative attitude and provocative questioning before a chain of events begins to form. Here, Imamura juggles the narrative perspective of Iwao with that of the police, so that we are never quite sure if what we're seeing is a recreation of police evidence or the word of a man that we cannot really trust. As the film progresses, other characters will be introduced, and all of them will in some way contribute towards fleshing out the story in such a way that continues this idea of a patchwork narrative, or conversely, what film critic Tony Rayns refers to as "the lines of thought".

The effect that Imamura's structure has on us is at times staggering; cutting to a scene of spiralling family turmoil in between moments of murder and seduction, in a way that both disarms and distracts us; forcing us to ask questions and connect the dots as it were to try and pin point Iwao's exact reason for this misanthropic violence and rage. Later in the film, more surreal and enigmatic moments will be added to offer further shades of reference, accumulating as we crawl closer and closer to a final that we hope will tie these issues together, but instead, leaves us with even more questions pertaining to the complex ideas regarding love, honour, family, faith, society, spirituality, regret, rage, murder, life and death. This presents a stark irony to the film. Whereas the structure of the script and the presentation of the characters and narrative are incredibly complicated and vague, Imamura's direction is subtle and as light as a feather.

Perhaps drawing somewhat on his past work in documentary-directing, the style of Vengeance is Mine has an uncomplicated minimalism and sense of urgency. Imamura makes great use of cramped, claustrophobic interiors, from the police car in the opening sequence, to the interrogation scenes, to the sequences between Iwao and the owner of a hotel where he later hides out. He also captures the spirit of 60's Japan, moving from the small islands and villages with their old ways and traditional values, to the bright lights of the city and a beguiling underworld of crime and prostitution. Much of the film is shot in a very light, cinéma-vérité style with hand-held cameras or locked off shots framed through windows and doorways, with the use of extensive on-screen inter-titles to announce the names of victims, the date and times of death, and the choice of murder weapon. Again, this appropriation of style and the emphasis on examination and a certain presentation of reality in all its sordid detail is very much keeping with Imamura's previous documentary work, and the lurid, real-life aspect of Iwao Enokizu's unprovoked double-murder, and the gruelling 78 day manhunt that followed.

In keeping with this uncomplicated visual approach, the violence of Vengeance is Mine is stark, uncompromising and brutal. As ferocious and provocative as the central performance from Ken Ogata and as cold and unsympathetic as the murders in Kieslowski's A Short Film About Killing (1988). Given Iwao's character, and Imamura' refusal to take sides regarding these complicated issues - presenting the drama from a distance and allowing the audience the opportunity to make up their own mind regarding the various rights and wrongs - Vengeance is Mine will definitely be a difficult work for many viewers. Iwao is such an unlikable and unsympathetic character and yet, we watch the film unfold through his eyes and share in his thoughts, feelings, lies and disappointments. The title is also misleading and vague; tapping into the ideas of Catholicism central to the plot but in no way representing the view point of any of these characters.

Ultimately, Vengeance is Mine requires thought and consideration on the part of the audience to pick apart the various sub textual ideas presented by the narrative and the matter of fact way in which the direction comments on them. There are clear ideas of family, with the relationship between husband and wife, father and son, mother and son all driving Iwao to commit these crimes and show no sympathy, as well as cultural and spiritual taboos central to the Japanese culture of the post war era. The highly enigmatic ending also adds further shades that require personal interpretation, with the last five minutes presenting something vaguely surreal and undoubtedly thought provoking. Vengeance is Mine is a bold and provocative work that forces the viewer to ask some serious questions, with no guarantee of any easy answers, and remains a powerful and uncompromising work of intelligent cinema.

Another dark vision from Imamura

[kerpan · 8/10 · 22 May 2003]

This dark masterpiece pushes to the limits of my toleration for violence and sex. We get to watch the "how", "when", "where" of the story of the murderous sociopath (brilliantly portrayed by Ken Ogata) but are denied any convincing "why" by Imamura. This film seemed to have echoes of Poe -- another master at combining humor with the horrific and macabre. When it comes to cinema, though, there is no other master anything like Imamura.

No aspect of this film (acting, cinematography, script) is less than impressive. A recent 2 DVD set from Panorama (a Hong Kong company) provides English subtitles and is technically adequate (albeit far from superlative).

A Nutshell Review: Vengeance is Mine

[DICK STEEL · 8/10 · 15 September 2007]

Shohei Imamura's multi award winning film Vengeance is Mine follows after the dismal performance of The Profound Desire of the Gods, this time being a film that is more accessible. Based on a novel which follows the life of crime of real-life criminal Iwao Enokizu (played by Ken Ogata), at one time the most wanted man in Japan for his series of murders, this was probably my favourite movie today, until I watched Imamura's Palme d'Or winner Ballad of Narayama.

It's no surprise that this is something more conventional, given that it plays out narratively in retrospect, and that audiences sure like something that is based on real life. I thought it unfurled similarly to Catch Me If You Can, except that while Frank Abignale Jr was once a conman, defrauding banking institutions and adopting various identities, Iwao Enokizu was a killer first, and conman second, assuming identities to obtain cash for basic necessities, and for pleasurable moments to satisfy his lust for flesh.

The story seeks to discover his motivation and rationale for a life in crime, and goes way back to when Enokizu was a child, and hating his father for being weak in standing up against oppressors (in truth, there is little he can actually do except to lose his life if he doesn't comply). Hatred also bred deeper when his father is a religious hypocrite, obviously sinning against Enokizu with the lust for his wife Kazuko (Mitsuko Baisho, who's a dead ringer for Hong Kong actress Cherie Chung), and strangely enough, for Kazuko to fall heads over heals for the old man too. This father-son dynamics, like in Catch Me If You Can, pops up now and then through the story to remind you of the beginnings of the feud, except that there is absolutely no love between the two of them.

I thought Ken Ogata is enigmatic on screen, with his crazed antics as the killer on the loose, and his suave demeanour when posing as a professor and a lawyer. There's this mean streak within that glint in the eye, and surely, this is one man you definitely would not want to cross. For the most parts of the story, it deals with the love between his Enokizu and an inn manager Haru (Mayumi Ogawa), who falls in love with devotion of blind faith, and the happenings within the confines of that inn. What I thought was a bit difficult to sit through though, was the violence against women in the movie, with the constant slapping across the cheek (and I notice this too in the other Imamura films), and some included rape.

But the theme that took the cake was the one on religious hypocrisy as personified by Enokizu's father Shizuo (Rentaro Mikuni), and really, this is the kind of dads, or persons that you'll love to hate. Preaching something and practicing another, you wonder whether Enokizu would seek him out for revenge, since it seemed like Shizuo was indeed Iwao's most hated person on earth, rather than work on his victims by chance.

Vengeance of Mine is full of nudity, sex and gratuitous violence, which gave it an R21 rating for today's uncut screening. Simple to follow, and definitely enjoyable by fans who have a preference for true life crime stories. Some of the actors here become familiar faces when they get casted again in the next movie, Ballad of Narayama, and I thought Vengeance was a nice way of introducing those actors to us first.

great movie

[minimal-cut-set · 10/10 · 3 January 2003]

The movie show us the story of a japanese serial killer. We watch, in alternating flashbacks, sequences of his childhood, his cruel murders, the failure of his marriage, the destructive relation with his father, his escape through the country. The characters of the film, the murder, the murder´s father, the murder´s wife, a prostitute met during the escape and her old mother, are deeply delineated, realistic and human. There are many memorable sequences along the movie. A sex scene in a japanese sauna environment, an awfully realistic multiple killing in a truck, a subliminal and sinister persecution in a park with pools full of eels, and the marvellous and enigmatic end sequence. This is one of the best movie I have ever seen.

Interesting...and tiresome

[barkingechoacrosswaves · 6/10 · 16 July 2015]

This movie recounts the many unsavory exploits and pointless wanderings of a murderous criminal. Ken Ogata plays a man with absolutely no redeeming qualities and without a shred of nuance. Although I admired Ogata's vigorous performance and found the other actors quite capable, this movie became grating rather quickly. At a certain point I looked at my watch and was very surprised to see that only one hour had passed -- despite being "action packed" this film actually drags on and on and on.

The essential problem is that whenever Ogata is on screen his mode is almost always full-on viciousness. The audience gets beaten over the head relentlessly with the obvious message that this guy is absolutely no good. Fair enough, but it's hard to sit through 2.5 hours of that atmosphere without feeling cramped, oppressed and a little (or even more than a little) bored by it all. This movie could definitely have used some serious editing.

My favorite scene involves a very fraught and intimate conversation between the murderer's wife and his father. It is played with remarkable finesse and restraint by the two actors involved and offers a welcome respite from the constant drumbeat of murders, robberies, jailhouse interviews, etc.

I'd say this thing is worthwhile if you keep your expectations well in check and don't have anything too pressing to do. Your patience will be rewarded at certain times and severely tested at others. All in all, "Vengeance is Mine" is a very mixed bag.

Iwao: Portrait of a Serial Murderer.

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 1 January 2009]

Yes, the Japanese can have serial killers too, and they can make movies about them, and this is one powerful movie. In its technique, it comes closer to "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" in its episodic and somewhat rambling narrative than to any of the dozens of other American junk being ground out about Ed Gein the Butcher or "Ted Bundy." The serial murderer, a real one, is Iwao Inokizu, played with intensity and charm by Ken Ogata, who passed away a few months ago. There are some discontinuities in the narrative that may make this rather long story a little hard to follow, perhaps especially for Westerners. Iwao's first two murders are both pointless and bloody. Of the remaining three, only one takes place on screen and is relatively brief. And the story is told in flashbacks, with sudden shifts from place to place, and only a handful of characters to serve as anchors in time and space.

Man, have the writers got Antisocial Personality Disorder down pat. They illustrate the condition as well as Iwao exemplified it. Iwao kills people -- five all together, matching Jack the Ripper -- for virtually no reason. He poses as a lawyer or a distinguished professor. He moves from city to city relentlessly and cons people out of money with his authoritative charm.

The movie is mature. It's made for grown-ups, not children. And not because of any sensationalism. That would be targeting thrill-starved teens of today. But rather because of the absence of sensationalism. It's hard to describe a film about a serial killer as showing a sense of taste but this one does. When Iwao forms a bond with an elderly woman whom he considers his "prison buddy" because she's been in jail, he decides to strangle her. When she walks unwittingly into a darkened room, we see him enter behind her with a rope. And that's it. Cut. It reminds me of the scene in Val Lewton's "The Body Snatchers" when the young girl who sings carols is murdered off screen.

Iwao's family were devout Catholics, so much so that when Iwao's father develops impure thoughts about Iwao's wife he asks to be excommunicated. And the family insist that before Iwao is married, his bride convert from Buddhism. This came as a bit of a surprise because in much of Japan religion, although taken seriously, isn't so readily and so intensely divided into sects and denominations. A Shinto shrine at home is in no way incompatible with a Christian wedding and a Buddhist funeral ceremony.

There is a scene at the end in which Iwao's father and the daughter-in-law whom he loves, and who loves him, dispose of Iwao's bones after the hanging by flinging them from an isolated hill top. The bones seem to freeze in mid-air. I take this to be not director Imamura's endorsement of anything supernatural, just the symbolic perceptions of Iwao's family. He was so thoroughly rotten, and blood is blood, that it's not easy to get rid of him even after he's dead. The scene is probably more easily understood in Japan, where family honor and shame are considerations to be seriously reckoned with.

It's a lengthy film and at times a little confusing, but it packs a real wallop.

Dark Japanese classic.

[RatedVforVinny · 9/10 · 26 June 2019]

'Vengeance is Mine' was (adapted from a famous book) and based on a true story of a mindless serial killer (from the Far East). You never really know (or understand) why the vengeance is meted out, though he seems to have an eternal grudge against his father. Like 'In the Realm of the Senses' (two years before) the culture is further away in difference, than the actual air miles to Japan. it's beautifully shot and with a fine attention to detail. The subject matter is harsh, gruesome but never in an exploitative way. Japanese cinema always has the power to surprise and the willingness of his girlfriend to become his final victim, is a further shocking dimension. This actually won 'Best Film' at the Japanese academy awards (in 1979), which shows this country is not shy to reward such a controversial film.

A Great Film

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 29 September 2014]

Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata), a murderous thief on the lam.

Take a great story, throw in some religious overtones (who knew that the Catholic Church had an influence in Japan), and you have a good film. Heck, a great film. (That Roger Ebert named this one of his "great films" is quite appropriate.) Not well known to American audiences today, with no known actors or director, it really needs to be re-examined for a new generation. Japan had much more to offer than Samurai films, and this has to be one of the first serial killer movies out there.

Boring

[Der_Schnibbler · 4/10 · 20 April 2010]

Jesus, the things people will say in comments. You'd think this film was some kind of tour de force of violence and depravity. Let me tell you what you are actually getting if you sit down to watch this.

Sociopath guy gets arrested, then we have a flashback to his messed up childhood, then fast forward to shortly before he gets arrested, where the majority of the story takes place. During this time, he moves from one place to another to evade police, meets people, scams them, kills them, moves on. When he's not doing that, he is crawling in awkward positions around small indoor spaces.

The rest of the time is spent watching characters display entirely inappropriate reactions to the things taking place. For example, the police discuss his crimes with him in the interrogation room without so much as batting an eyelid at his confessions. His ex-wife is in love with the guy's father who is old enough you hardly believe he can get it up.

If you can buy all that, and if you think this kind of thing deserves a whopping two and a half hours of your time, enjoy. Otherwise, go see "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer."

My God, the things people will say here... Look, whoever is in awe of this film is probably some kind of aficionado of Japanese cinema. If you do not fall in that category and are instead someone looking for some entertainment that will keep your interest throughout two hours and twenty minutes, do yourself a favor and leave this film be.

The most interesting movie concerning a serial killer I've ever seen. Difficult but utterly brilliant.

[Infofreak · 20 August 2003]

'Vengeance Is Mine' is one of the best movies I've watched in a long time. I know there is a growing cult surrounding Imamura ('The Pornographers'), but I'm still extremely surprised that this movie isn't better known and discussed more. For many movie fans Japanese cinema either equals Kurosawa and Ozu if you're highbrow, and Godzilla and Mothra if you aren't, but both these simplistic approaches marginalize all kinds of fascinating and exciting movies from Suzuki's 'Tokyo Drifter' and 'Branded To Kill' in the 1960s, 'Vengeance Is Mine' and Oshima's 'In The Realm Of The Senses' in the 1970s, on to such contemporary innovators as Shinya Tsukamoto ('Tetsuo'), Beat Takeshi ('Hana-bi'), Takashi Ishii ('Gonin'), and Takashi Miike ('Ichi The Killer'). 'Vengeance Is Mine' is easily the most interesting serial killer movie I've ever seen. The narrative structure can be a bit confusing at first, and that combined with Imamura's non-judgmental approach might throw some viewers for a while, but if you persevere you won't regret it. Ken Ogata gives an impressive performance and the movie as a whole is utterly brilliant. I watched it twice to try and fully appreciate it, and I would now rate it as one of the very best movies of the 1970s (my favourite movie decade). This beautiful and disturbing movie comes with my highest recommendation!

a disturbing and provocative slow burn, but totally worth it

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 22 January 2019]

The *other* infamous bone-throwing-in-the-air scene in cinema history (though in this case bones plural is more accurate).

Iwao Enokizu is that rarity: an antagonist who also acts as the protagonist in his own story. This doesn't mean he is the only significant character going on here. There's also Iwao's long suffering father, and the woman Iwao decides to marry, sort of on a whim to piss them off, even as he doesn't love her (and has kids with them, who we barely see, making him not a father much at all) and leaves them behind after he gets out of prison and starts his killing spree, and most important possibly is the woman who runs an Inn-chm-brothel where Iwao gets into an unlikely relationship with her while she fights constantly with her own mother (Iwao by the way is in disguise initially as a professor, and Ogata, who you might remember as one of the Mishimas in Paul Schrader's film, has an unassuming look that is to his advantage even as his face is plastered on wanted posters). But this does mean that he drives the action forward, is the one we're seeing this story progress with, and yet it is always clear that Imamura doesn't mean for us to identify with him.

That doesn't mean, on the other hand, that Imamura shoots his film or has his script be so cold that we dont see humanity happen. Or, most importantly, that despite the brutal kills (and there are some harrowing and nasty murders here, some with blood, others just by how intense its played and how unflinching it is with camera angles and editing), Iwao is always shown as human, and the main supporting cast around him are fully fleshed out beings who live their own lives not always connected to him. Indeed, there's the whole subplot (of sorts) with Iwao's dad and the dad's daughter-in-law and their burgeoning love (there's an extremely sensual scene between the two of them at a hot spring and, for all the sex Iwao does with other characters, he is never this... Intimate).

This film is startling and shocking not (or not just) for the acts of violence and sex that occur - though they are shown graphically, and while I dont think Imamura is a director who in any way (at least on a first viewing) I can sense has a dislike or problem with women, he is depicting violence against them, both physically and mentally, and nearly every major speaking female role here has to deal with rapey and forceful and abusive men, and if you need a content-warning for that before you watch, there you go - but for the layers of humanity that it strips away until bare.

It would be easy to show Iwao as a guy who is simply out for blood, but he is also not what we see in serial killer movies as the other type of the super-genius killer. He's not Leatherface or Lecter. He's just a man who started doing other crimes and being rebellious as a kid, as we see in flashbacks, and even went to jail for a time, but once he kills there's an intelligence (a conman element to him, like scamming strangers out of money like as a fake lawyer in court, is a darkly comedic scene and there are a few here, another surprise for me given the early scenes) but also real emotion too.

This woman at this Inn, Haru, loves Iwao even after she finds out that he is a killer on the run; actually, much to Iwao's at first bafflement, acceptance and then embracing, she has an even greater love for him after her initial shock wears off. There's an extremism to how this relationship unfolds, but because Imamura has taken the time to develop things, almost imperceptibly building up the dynamic in this slow burn of a film (it runs long enough that I anticipate it moving quicker on another watch), it doesn't feel that unrealistic. His approach leans towards documentary realism, but there's times he will rely on a long take not just because it makes the most sense but for psychological realism. And he does cut away when he should or has to, but how long at times we stay on a scene and he confidently keeps characters in a medium shot, it's radically effective.

I wish I could say this was a perfect film, but it doesn't have a completely airtight structure. He cuts back to Shizuo (the "ex-ish" wife) and Kayo (dad), but those scenes with then really make an impact the most when it's still in the framing of Iwoa in the first half of the film. Once he is at the other Inn as the professor, when Imamura cuts back to them it doesn't feel right somehow. Also, I think if he had trimmed those bits it would have made a greater impact once Iwao finally does see his father again (the penultimate scene actually, which is amazing).

This complaint aside, this is a truly engrossing and unusual epic that I plan on revisiting some day - maybe not right away, but certainly I will get this on bluray - and it has such a committed and sparingly simple performance by Ogata, simple as in he isn't pulling punches with how he gets to the ugliest truths of this man.

Damn Japanese Catholics, man. And I thought Silence was the most disturbing Japanese-set story involving that!

back through multiple flashbacks

[christopher-underwood · 9/10 · 7 January 2022]

Director Shohei Imamura shows in Vengeance is Mine (1979) the true story of Iwao Enokizu the con-artist who steals all the time from those he lives on and also acts as a serial killer. Early on Imamura made in The Insect Woman (1964) in she in poverty and trying to succeed her own way and The Pornographers (1966) a guy wrestling with his desires and afflictions. He then worked only on documentary but then with The Eel (1997) a person makes an eel as a friend and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001) a couple meet with unusual sexual powers. His return from documentary filming started him back with the serial killer film. It is a fantastic one that is so unusual that starts in the prison and then looks back through multiple flashbacks and we have such an idea on where of his starting the killing, rather than usually we are most interested as him how person gets to the police finally.

Murder in mind

[Ali_John_Catterall · 9/10 · 2 December 2009]

"I'll never forgive you." "Who the Hell asked you to?" This has been dubbed the "greatest serial killer movie ever made". It's the true story of Iwaao Enokizu from as devout Catholic family who, while posing as a charming university lecturer, went on a 78-day slaughter spree in the 1960s before he was captured, unrepentant to the end. The murders are rendered with protracted verite - comparable to Kieslowski's Short Film About Killing - though are often so slapdash they can seem like the work of a deeply depressed Benny Hill sketch writer. And Vengeance... would be nothing more than a spreadsheet of bestial brutality were it not for Imamura's intelligent approach to its subject (think of this as a Japanese take on Camus' The Outsider) and willful cussedness, exposing a side of society the 'new Japan' would prefer to whitewash over.

There always has to be a priest involved

[GyatsoLa · 8/10 · 3 May 2007]

Nasty, but fascinating account based on the true story of a deeply disturbed serial killer in early 1960's Japan. But this is very different from most movies of the genre in that it gives no neat psychological explanations of why he kills, or indeed gives any particular moral overview. It has a complex structure starting at his capture and working back and forth from there to his childhood and his murders. Its not an easy film to watch in many ways, but via an excellent central performance it manages to convey the complexity of the killer and the people he meets, including the women who (sometimes) love him, without ever taking an easy narrative or moral option. Perhaps the nearest equivalent movie I can think of is the more recent Korean 'Memories of Murder' which likewise breaks the 'rules' set by western serial killer movies, and as such are far more informative and interesting.

Cold and Dark

[billcr12 · 7/10 · 29 April 2012]

Vengeance is Mine is a character study which explores the mind of a psychopath. Iawo Enokizu is singing in the back of a police car while being transported by detectives. He complains about his future hanging for the five murders he has committed. while escorted from the car, the cops shield him from an angry mob attack.

Flashbacks take us to two separate crime scenes where the victim had been stabbed to death. At interrogation, the killer laughs and refuses to cooperate with the investigation.

Two men are driving Iawo, and when they reach their destination, he beats the first one to death with a hammer and then stabs the second guy with a knife, taking money and calmly walking away.

Police interview ex-girlfriends and one of them says she threatened him with a stiletto which he stole from her, and the second, a former stripper, shows them a small crucifix on a chain given to her as a gift by Enozizu.

Iawo is with his dad at about seven in another flashback, and the Japanese army demands that their boats be handed over to the military for the war efforts. They first refuse but after threats, turn over the boats while pointing out the strong anti Catholic environment in Japan.

The problem child first conviction is for stealing a jeep from the American forces and after two years in jail his father tells him that he must get married and so he finds a Buddhist girl who converts to their religion and they have two daughters. He continues his bad ways, at one point pretending to be a lawyer and stealing bond money from a woman and other con games send him back to prison. While incarcerated, his wife Kazuko is in a hot bath with her father in law where she gives the old man a back rub. He reciprocates by massaging her and she grabs his hands and places them on her ample breasts; very inappropriate behavior. The sexual tension continues throughout the story.

After release from the pokey, Mr. con man pretends to be a college professor and finds an inn which doubles as a brothel being run by a mother and daughter. He asks for a companion for the night and he is served. Eventually the daughter falls for him and they begin a relationship. More murder and mayhem occur, courtesy of our hero, and as the law close in he is finally recognized due to his wanted poster being all over the country.

The new love interest visits him in Tokyo, and they do not live happily ever after. At the last interview with detectives, he finally admits to the murders and his father informs him that he has been excommunicated from the Catholic Church. The sentence is inevitable, and the last scene with his dad and his wife is a realistic and tragic end for this long and insightful look at the human condition.

Classy!

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 24 February 2016]

VENGEANCE IS MINE is a serial killer film with a different: this Japanese epic is hyper-realistic and reminded me of the sort of classy thriller that Kurosawa would have made in his prime. It has stylistic similarities to Kurosawa's own HIGH & LOW, although the focus this time is on the killer himself rather than the detective investigation.

A slightly unusual framing chronology at the outset soon settles into a comfortable routine as the tale is told in flashback for the most part. Ken Ogata plays a fully-rounded character who one day snaps and becomes a murderer, and the film is careful to paint his character in detailed strokes, allowing the viewer to build up a picture of how and why he was eventually driven to murder.

It's a psychological study that's packed full of great stuff: subtle characterisation, bursts of sudden and explicit sex and violence, and overall a thorough attention to detail. The cinematography is excellent, bringing to life the shabby working class life of Japan in the late '50s and early '60s, and despite the slow pace and lengthy running time, not a scene seems to be extraneous or wasted. In short, it's a masterwork.

"Well Then, Your A Wimp"...

[loganx-2 · 6/10 · 30 July 2008]

Not as brutal as "Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer", but not as sophisticated as "The Talented Mr. Ripley". Vengeance is Mine is the story of a con man, thief, and murderer (not serial killer, there's nothing ritual about any of it), during 78 day manhunt to find him. The film also shows moments from Enokizu's youth, and has two sub-plots one about his Catholic father and wife, resisting their attraction to each other, the other about a mother and daughter who run a brothel, where Enokizu' sometimes stays.

Criterion Collection DVD came with an interview with the directer where he says his only interest in films are people, there no nature shots in his films, every frame has human actions. His interests are not moral, he's interested his characters feelings, thoughts, sex lives, their everyday habits, but that's it.

No cop hot on the trail, no great explanation for how he has come to this (Why so serious?), no guilty confession. It's a character driven story about a sociopath, at times charming, at others brutish, and still others pent up and pathetic (the final father son scene).

Any very intense, unlikely humanistic, well made film. Not sure I would watch it again, but worth seeing once.

complex tale of a serial murderer

[zoniedon · 8/10 · 27 October 1998]

A true story told in flashbacks of a Japanese serial killer. This film requires your attention because of the flashbacks and the ever changing locations. The killer, played creepily by Ken Ogata, is also a con artist. He seduces women and has no conscience. A subplot involves the more than friendship between the wife he leaves behind and his father. An untraditional violent, sexy and vastly entertaining film for the serious filmgoer.

technically superior but who is the audience?

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 8 July 2005]

Technically speaking, this is an exceptional film. The acting and direction are superb. However, I question just WHO the movie is intended for? It's an incredibly realistic and violent tale of the exploits of a merciless serial killer--showing him kill people brutally (by repeated stabbings or stranglings). This brutality would tend to turn off many. This tended to turn me off, as it was really hard to care about anyone in the movie and those I felt anything for were usually killed sooner or later. Some may enjoy this voyeuristic outlet, but I sure didn't. It reminded me of a better made and less over-the-top version of Natural Born Killers.

Life And Times Of A Serial Murderer.

[net_orders · 5/10 · 25 September 2016]

Viewed on DVD. Studio Director Shouhei Imamura delivers a gruesome tale about the product of a dysfunctional family who ends up as a remorseless killer (as well as an accomplished minor con artist). This Shochiku programmer is apparently based on a documentary-style book which, in turn, is based on actual events. The photo play tries to embrace and regurgitate both data sources which results in a schizophrenic movie that suffers from excessive "ancestor worship." Initially, the Director tries combining flashbacks with documentary-style filming (which never play well together), but quickly abandons this approach (much to the viewer's relief who would otherwise need a spreadsheet to keep track of things!). Early murder scenes are unintentionally hilarious, as characters just plain refuse to die despite receiving multiple fatal wounds. In between later murders, the killer freely roams city streets undisguised (except for sunglasses) when wanted posters are literally plastered everywhere! (A death wish; a plea for help; or just a dumb screen script?) Actors and actresses lack on-screen chemistry. Rather than forming an ensemble, each seems to be waiting to deliver lines instead of listening and reacting to the dialog of others. The lead actor does not seem to be in his element when playing a murderer, but, instead, when playing a chameleon-like swindler who can change modes of deception on the fly! Nude scenes and gratuitous simulated sex are inserted here and there to spice things up (and boost juvenile audience appeal). Cinematography (semi wide screen, color) is good except for the closing scenes (see below). Restoration is very good. Subtitles for opening credits are near-white letters on top of white Japanese characters making them challenging/impossible to read. Dialog subtitles are sometimes too long given their screen flash rates. Yup, the English title (widely used) for this movie does not fit, but it is catchy. The ending is just plain weird (and seems to be tacked on as well as poorly executed and photographed). But, then again, there could be a message hidden in there--somewhere! Not recommended (unless you first park your brain beside your disc player). WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.