Directed By Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Starring – Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuju Kosaka

The Plot – Takumi (Omika) and his daughter Hana (Nishikawa) live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of an irresponsible plan to build a camping site near Takumi’s house, offering residents a comfortable escape to nature, but one that comes with many unforeseen circumstances.

This film is currently not rated

Evil Does Not Exist – Official US Trailer (2024) (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

Very few directors exhibit a passion and appreciation for a setting in ways that Hamaguchi does, and while this intimate village near Tokyo feels like a character of its own in the movie, for how the plot centers around it, it’s ultimately Hamaguchi’s documentation of it that appraises value to the outsiders of the audience from beyond, for what truly remains at stake in this peaceful oasis. Like his previous films, Hamaguchi has a deep connection to his cinematographer, this time Yoshio Kitagawa, that seamlessly brandishes itself in the extent of the execution, with a nature documentary kind of feel towards intoxicating imagery involving meticulous scanning, that make it such a tranquilly serene experience for interpretation. Because Hamaguchi is an experimental storyteller who not only limits dialogue to limit interpretation for his imagery, but also takes his time fleshing out a vividity and tangible essence to the settings that makes up his films, the viewer gains a deeper sense of appreciation for the stakes that continuously hang overhead like an air of consciousness, and as a result an opening angle into the many boldly unapologetic characters clinging desperately to hang onto that last bastion of sacred sanctity that remains untouched. The storytelling itself is full of hits and misses, but when landing paints a refreshingly unbiased look into land development that results in ample thought-provoking conversation starters for the viewer, all while fleshing out both sides of the moral conflict with responsibility and depth. My initial thoughts were that this would be a one-sided debate over the importance and sanctity of land purification, but the reality is that the alluded to title doesn’t exactly involve evil intentions, but rather two sides with their own unique definition of opportunity, in turn supplanting a clashing of agendas that evades the cliched business big wigs of previous films about greed, in favor of everyday people asked to do the bidding of corporations who would rather remain in the shadows. While the film isn’t exactly committed towards fully fleshing out deep-rooted characterization explorations, there’s a real consciousness to their interactions and various dynamics that feel lived in with authenticity, with nuanced insights in everything from the performances to the emotional dexterity of the musical score by longtime Hamaguchi collaborator, Eiko Ishibashi, which I truly couldn’t get enough of. While the performances themselves are often subdued and understated as a result of the material offering them little chances to stand out separately as opposed to one collective ensemble, the introduction of the aforementioned established conflict opens up the pridefully stoic registry of Omika, who garnered such an unshakeable X-factor of mesmerizing magnetism that I couldn’t look away from, even while doing monotonous tasks like chopping wood or carrying jugs of water throughout the woods. As a result, Omika says as much with a stare or underwriting inflection than could ever be said with a thousand words, resulting in an introspective advantage to his feelings on matters, despite him being so understated and meticulous in the conversations that he chooses to casually attach himself to. Ryo Nishikawa has many of the same benefits to a similar approach as her on-screen father, with much of her acting being deduced to facial registries with her inexperienced interactions with nature. Nishikawa articulates a naturalistic innocence and wonderment that inscribes many corresponding questions about the world that her character will eventually inherit, but beyond that an adventurous curiosity that results in some second half developments that I truly wasn’t expecting with this kind of movie. On that aspect, ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ is a case where the second half’s entertainment value far succeeds its first, with elements of uncertainty and suspense that build up one riveting climax, especially for the way it cleverly and subtly constructs a few key ingredients among the storytelling that unceremoniously snuck up on me. While I do have issues with the overall execution of the film’s final few moments, I found myself more thoroughly invested to the characters and ensuing subplots once the essential plot is introduced around the film’s halfway point, especially since dimensions of characterization are shed towards gaining a far greater insight towards the beauty and appreciation of what surrounds them, all without resulting in the kind of predictability that you might expect from a movie with so much urgency in nature.

NEGATIVES

In what was initially conceived as a short film, ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ saunters to a 105 minute run time with occasionally arduous pacing that unnecessarily stretches out the capture of many scenes and sequences during the film’s first half. While I previously commended Hamaguchi for his appreciation and capture of some truly spellbinding scenery, the reality of the situation is that the consistency of the editing feels intentionally relaxed to pad that timely destination, resulting in pockets of prolonged depiction that does unfortunately result in some tediously boring instances. It’s obviously felt the most during the film’s introductory first few sequences, with little to no insight into these characters or the value of the plot quite yet materialized in the film’s favor, but occasionally during the second half the film’s momentum will succumb to periodic meandering of what has already been experienced and interpreted, resulting in a film too bland and thematically limited to some audiences seeking a certain kind of film. In addition, while much of the storytelling provided just enough intrigue and fascination to trigger my faithful investment, I wish more clarity materialized as a result of the conflict’s long-standing impact on the village. While I understand that the film was looking to leave things as ambiguous as possible, in order to elicit many thought-provoking questions for debate among its audience, the result here feels painfully unresolved, leaving it the least fascinating element of the script as the film persists, whether intentional or not. Finally, I did appreciate unorthodox direction that the ending went for, especially with dramatic shifts in both the movie’s tone and character finality, but again I think the editing gets in the way of much-needed clarity for the sequence, especially with spontaneous actions that quite literally come out of nowhere. While I can coherently interpret what the film was going for, with regards to effective results requiring actions rather than discussions, this late act development feels exaggeratedly tacked on to supplant a lasting impression that Hamaguchi apparently didn’t have confidence in his ‘Urgency in nature’ conflict to produce, in turn leaving audiences with more questions than answers, but not the ones that the film intended to conjure.

OVERALL
‘Evil Does Not Exist’ is another poetic meditation on life from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who uses ample time to flourish the beauty and vulnerability of our natural resources. With spellbinding cinematography, naturalistic human performances and several thought-provoking questions, the film is a call to urgency of examination about the things our society values most, and though occasionally weighed down by deliberately relaxed editing schemes and an ending that feels plucked from an entirely different film all together, it’s still a mesmerizingly dreamlike portrait about the inevitable confrontation between humanity and nature, where perception isn’t always reality in a world bred by capitalistic ventures.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-