The most recent Ryusuke Hamaguchi film entitled “Evil Does Not Exist” is a puzzling one considering evil is omnipresent in the film. The best I can devise here is that there is an absence of evil in nature but interpose man with nature and evil is inescapable. Debate it if you wish but has Ryusuke Hamaguchi accomplished a goal of having the audience seriously ruminate the lack of existence of evil then attempt to apply that proposition to the movie? The avoidance of spoon feeding?
The plot is hardly innovative. Takumi Yasumura (Hitoshi Omika) is an oddjobber living in the forest with his 8-year-old daughter Hana on the outskirts of a small fictional Japanese village Mizubuki 2 hours proximate to Tokyo. His house sits in a beautiful forest at the foot of mountains. There are streams of pure mountain water running through the forest. There are numerous birds and deer. It is beautiful setting and what evil could exist here?
Yes after 4 minutes of bottom to top filming of trees in the snowy forest the viewer must be relaxed and lulled into thinking that perhaps evil does not exist in this forest but that is quickly shattered by gunshots of deer hunters in the distance as Takumi and his friend Kazuo collect tanks of stream water that are used in the village udon and soba noodle shop to make exceptional noodles far better that ever could be consumed in Tokyo . And then the skeleton of a gut shot deer on the forest floor is ominous.
A Tokyo talent agent working in conjunction with a “consultant” has plans to build a glamping site in the forest latching onto the latest touristic craze. An explanatory meeting with the villagers is a disaster for the talent agency represented by Mayuzumi (Ayaka Shibutani) and her cynical colleague Takahashi (Ryuji Kosaka). Concerns of the villagers are not directly addressed or lost and obfuscated in corporate double talk. The lack of supervision of the glamping site is of particular concern due to the dry pine forest subject to destruction by improperly supervised campfires and the septic tank is not configured to full glamping capacity as after all what it a little pollution? The residents are cognizant how important water is to the village and those downstream. Should there be a leak of sewage those downstream will be affected.
Mayuzumi and Takahashi report back to Tokyo and are instructed to offer Takumi a caretaker position at the glamping site and unsuccessfully attempt to give him gifts of liquor with the goal of divide and conquer. They also offer him a “consulting” position as he knows the area and villagers. Dialogue between Mayuzumi and Takahashi indicate both are dissatisfied with life and increasingly suspicious and concerned with the glamping proposal. Are they both good people at heart induced to propagate corporate evil by economic insecurity. Could it be that evil is introduced into the village and forest not by Eve picking the apple but Tokyo corporate interests seeking profits without any serious environmental care.
There is an inconclusive dark screen conclusion to the film possibly even death and murder. And could it be that oddjobber Takumi is also capable of the worst evil?
A tremendous soundtrack by Eiko Ishibashi somewhere between mournful and ominous.
Written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVY4lWfrbME
Canadian theatrical release 10May2024.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 86/100.
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