Crime · Drama
Japanese (復讐するは我にあり)
1979 · Directed by Shōhei Imamura · 140 min
A man is hunted across Japan for a string of killings, and the film refuses to explain him neatly. Imamura builds a cold, sensual portrait of a charming criminal, a devout Catholic family and a country that has not been fully honest with itself.
Why it matters in cinema history
A key film of Japan's post-studio, late-1970s cinema and a defining example of the true-crime character study, it marks Imamura's move from social anthropology on screen to a harder, more probing portrait of a single destructive man.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a case study that offers evidence but withholds a verdict, asking you to judge the man while questioning what shaped him.
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