|
|
|
|
|
Though we often take the beauty and power of the natural world for granted, this year, many of us have taken time out from the busyness of our lives to witness natural wonders like the solar eclipse and the aurora borealis. And the Japanese drama Evil Does Not Exist (Aku wa sonzai shinai) explores that complicated relationship between man and nature.
Evil Does Not Exist travels to a small village outside Tokyo, where Takumi (Hitoshi Omika) lives with his eight-year-old daughter, Hana (Ryô Nishikawa). Takumi provides the town’s business owners with whatever they need—from fresh spring water to wild wasabi—and he enjoys spending time in nature, teaching his daughter about the plants and animals that share the forest with them. But the village’s peaceful existence is shaken when the villagers learn that a talent agency is planning to build a glamping resort nearby, to offer Tokyo’s wealthy residents an escape to the wilderness.
From the opening scene of Evil Does Not Exist, it’s clear that this isn’t going to be a fast-paced drama. The opening is long and deliberate, taking several minutes to examine the treetops from below. And the story that follows is more of the same. Everything here is quiet and deliberate and understated—from the filmmaking to the actors’ performances. At times, it can feel off-putting, but it works to emphasize the conflict between this small, tight knit town and the fast-talking agents who arrive to capitalize on their natural setting.
When the big-city talent agents arrive in the village, it throws off the easy balance of the characters’ small-town lives. While this company may be bringing people from the city to enjoy the Great Outdoors, everything about their plans will cause problems for the townspeople and their beloved natural surroundings. For them, tourists bring noise and destruction and pollution—and they express their concerns to the company’s ill-informed representatives.
From there, everything about the film, its setting, and its people is thrown off-balance. The talent agency’s rush to get the project started without thinking through the details and the implications clashes with the people’s laidback way of life. And that discord takes the film to its strange and perplexing conclusion.
Evil Does Not Exist definitely isn’t a film for wide audiences. It’s slow and quiet and often rather puzzling. But it’s a beautiful, serene film, offering a look at the challenging relationship that man has with nature.
Evil Does Not Exist expands to additional theaters this week. Check your local listings to see whether it’s playing near you.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
|
|
|
|
