Review: I am not going to waste any time saying it, VENGEANCE IS MINE is a revelation. It is rare to see filmmaking and storytelling on such a superior level nowadays, let allow 30 years ago. Director Imamura weaves a tale so satisfying and exhilarating that any fan of cinema should be exhausted by films end and in awe of what they just had witnessed. I must say that, up to this point, my education in this well-established filmmaker was his later films THE EEL and WARM WATER UNDER A RED BRIDGE. The former I found to be a well-accomplished effort leaving me wanting more, while the latter seemed like a long exercise in one’s patience. While having yet to experience earlier pictures like THE PORNOGRAPHERS and PIGS AND BATTLESHIPS, I was quite aware of their notoriety and many have been on my ‘to see’ list for quite sometime. VENGEANCE IS MINE was my first taste what a younger Imamura was really capable of and I must say I was pleasantly surprised in the outcome.

What impressed me the most with the film was how Imamura powerfully humanized killer Iwao Enokizu. Another perfectly executed decision was the choice of the director and writer to engulf the first part of the film with the majority of the murders. This structure made it a lot more effective story wise and gave the viewer a chance to grow close and even oddly comfortable with this truly insane man. When several killings came later in the film it nearly feels inevitable and borderline acceptable with a certain extent. At this point, the audience has given in and accepts the unmoral fact that Iwao must commit these horrible acts to stay safe and out of harm’s way, at least in his warped mind. Also by the end of the film, we realize that his problems are more of a sickness or disease and he has no other option, than to harm those people that could never harm him back. While we never learn his true motive behind his killing spree, I don’t believe this was what the film is striving for. Ultimately I believe the filmmaker’s intent is to draw the audience close enough so that we may sympathize with the main character. If that was their intention, then I believe they were highly successful at least to a certain degree without sounds too morbid.

Just as in Masahiro Shinoda’s SILENCE, religion and the repercussions of one’s beliefs rears its head in this picture. With this film however director Imamura chooses a bit more taboo subject matter to coincide with Christianity in VENGEANCE IS MINE. Iwao’s father raises his family in a very Christian upbringing yet, later in the film, comes face to face with a very questionable anti-religious predicament. Iwao’s father , played wonderfully by actor Rentaro Mikuni, is stuck headfirst into a very difficult scenario rarely seen in mainstream filmmaking. Iwao’s wife brought to well-needed intensity by actress Mitsuko Baisho, no longer shows desire for her husband Iwao but instead has fallen deeply in love with his father. Rarely has situations as this been tackle in mainstream filmmaking as this one. Most filmmakers choose to shy away from subject matter like this, but Imamura instead wastes no time with this very taboo situation. I think the inclusion of this, whether fact based or not, is a great way to pull the viewer into a completely different direction than what the rest of the film is addressing. Far too often, filmmakers attempt to back away from topics such as religion and adultery of this sort and I really believe it shows a sign of strength when a director can honestly create an impacting character arc within such a touchy subject matter as this. I believe it perfectly demonstrates the imperfections of us as human beings.