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Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho, Etsuko Ichihara, Tomorowo Taguchi ... see more see more... , Akira Emoto , Sabu Kawara , Ken Kobayashi , Fujio Tsuneta , Sho Aikawa

Veteran filmmaker and perennial iconoclast Shohei Imamura directs this darkly comic tale about love, redemption, and a man's beloved pet eel. The film opens with Takuro Yamashita (Koji Yakusho), a see... read more read more...mingly normal salaryman, learning that his wife might be having an affair. When he catches the couple in flaganto delicto, he freaks out and brutally stabs them both to death. Eight years later, Yamashita is released on parole into the care of a Buddhist priest living in rural Chiba prefecture. Far away from his former life, yet still plagued with memories of his crime, Yamashita decides to start anew by opening a barbershop on a quiet road next to a canal. Though inward looking and self-conscious, he eventually befriends a bumptious but good-hearted day laborer, and a construction worker who's obsessed with UFOs. His most fateful encounter though is with a woman named Keiko (Misa Shimizu), who he discovers unconscious following a suicide attempt. Looking to put a few of her own demons to bed, Keiko decides to stay in this sleepy corner of Japan and help her savior with his barbershop. Initially against the idea -- she bears a striking resemblance to his dead spouse -- he eventually agrees and even grows to like having her around. This film won the Grand Prix at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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81% liked it

2,850 ratings

Critics

76% liked it

25 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Shohei Imamura

Release Date: August 21, 1998

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DVD Release Date: April 12, 2005

Stats: 121 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (121)

  • brooklynspo
    May 23, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Rage, remorse, regeneration, redemption, romance and a lot of frankly baffling whimsy.

    I felt this movie was just all over the map and did not satisfy.

    "An erotic spellbinder." ??????, um... no.
  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    In the most perverse circumstances, a story of affection and redemption in The Eel. Reflective. Optimistic. Oddly charming.
  • gator681
    March 29, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "The Eel", Takuro Yamashita(Koji Yakusho) is an office worker who has been receiving anonymous letters about his wife's infidelity while he goes on nighttime fishing trips. In order to investigate these claims, he cuts one such trip short, and does indeed... read more catch her having sex with another man. He snaps and brutally murders her. Then, he calmly bikes down to the police station and turns himself in. Eight years later, he is released from prison on parole with his pet eel. He relocates to a sleepy seaside village under the watchful eye of his parole officer and with some inheritance money, he opens a barber shop, hoping to keep out of trouble. But then, he stumbles across an attempted suicide...[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"The Eel" is an offbeat movie that would at first seem to be about redemption but is actually about how none of us are truly alone, either literally or figuratively. In other words, there is no way to avoid becoming involved in other people's lives.[/font]
  • mrbot
    June 5, 2006
    mrbot
    A fascinating character study by one of Japan's best writer/directors, the late (and underappeciated) Shohei Imamura.

View All The Eel (Unagi) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Unpredictable and captivating. Full Review

Paul Tatara
January 1, 2000
Paul Tatara, CNN.com

I was once again stuck watching a movie that's solely about repressed passion, perhaps the least cinematic thing you could ever try to film. Full Review

Bob Graham
January 1, 2000
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle

It sounds nuts, but one of the best movies in town is about the relationship of a man with his eel. Full Review

Lawrence Van Gelder
January 1, 2000
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times

Yakusho and Ms. Shimizu deliver unerring performances in a splendid film that harvests hope from a bleak landscape. Full Review

J. Hoberman
January 1, 2000
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

This simple, sinuous fable may not be among Imamura's greatest films ... but it could hardly have been made by anyone else. Full Review

Judith Egerton
July 2, 2004
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Imamura composed The Eel with an artist's eye and takes his time, so don't expect a fast-paced American-style film. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
March 2, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

This excellent drama, based on a novel, reveals the beginning of a relationship between two souls who are trying to move beyond the wounds of the past. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
February 28, 2002
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

[An] odd, affecting little film. Full Review

Ed Scheid
January 1, 2000
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine

Yakusho gives a good performance in the lead role but the screenplay does not go beneath the surface of the characters. Full Review

Andrew Collins
January 1, 2000
Andrew Collins, Empire Magazine

What starts out as intriguing turns into simply baffling. Full Review

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