DVD Review: Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
Over the years Criterion has gained a reputation for releasing some of the greatest Japanese cinema on DVD to the delight of international film audiences. One of their most recent releases is the impressive true-crime drama Vengeance Is Mine
Vengeance Is Mine is based on the real-life crimes of one deeply disturbed man named Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata). The film opens with the police capture of Iwao Enokizu, who is then led to an interrogation room and forced to confess his multiple offenses. From there the film backtracks to reveal the bleak and troubling story of Enokizu’s life and crimes.
The character of Iwao Enokizu is brilliantly brought to life by the skilled Japanese actor Ken Ogata. He gives Enokizu plenty of charm so it's easy for audiences to see his appeal as he smartly seduces his victims. He seems perpetually unsettled and off balance, which makes it impossible for viewers to know what kind of horrible crime he will commit next.
Before making Vengeance Is Mine, filmmaker Shohei Imamura had spent the previous nine years of his life making documentary films in Japan. The director brings many of the filmmaking skills and experience he developed during this period to the movie, which gives Vengeance Is Mine a somewhat natural and realistic feel. This often makes it seem as if you’re watching a documentary instead of a fictional drama based on the life of one man.
The director never passes judgment on Iwao Enokizu’s crimes, nor does he attempt to easily explain why he commits his horrible deeds. We are offered glimpses of possible reasons such as Enokizu’s resentment towards his family, his anger over the war and American occupation of his country, the personal conflict he seems to have with his Catholic upbringing, his inability to hold down a regular job and his deeply troubled marriage, but the audience is left to make their own conclusions.
The movie has an incredible look and is exquisitely shot, which often clashes with the dark and disturbing nature of the story it tells. This unusual combination adds layers of depth to the production and gives director Shohei Imamura ample opportunity to display his incredible abilities as a smart and creative filmmaker who enjoys playing with symbolism and allegory to great effect.
I think viewers who have enjoyed films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and Man Bites Dog (1992) might appreciate the movie's structure as well as the documentary style in which it is presented, but Vengeance Is Mine is more slow-moving, abstract and expansive than any of those films.
The new Criterion DVD includes some wonderful extras such as a brief interview with the deceased director Shohei Imamura, two movie trailers and a lush booklet that contains another interview with the director as well as an interesting essay about Vengeance Is Mine and his approach to filmmaking, plus a new essay about the film by critic Michael Atkinson.
For more information about the DVD please visit Amazon
- Kimberly Lindbergs
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