Evil Does Not Exist
(Aku wa Sonzai Shinai (悪は存在しない))
JAPAN - 2023 - 106 MINUTES
A FILM BY RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI
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Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house; offering city residents a comfortable ‘escape’ to nature. When two company representatives from Tokyo arrive in the village to hold a meeting, it becomes clear that the project will have a negative impact on the local water supply, causing unrest. The agency’s mismatched intentions endanger both the ecological balance of the nature plateau and their way of life, with an aftermath that affects Takumi’s life deeply.
"An instant masterpiece worthy of intense debate" - Barry Hertz, The Globe And Mail
Grade A - “A Potent Japanese Eco-Fable from the Director of Drive My Car” - Original CIN
Ryusuke Hamaguchi explains how the music for Evil Does Not Exist came before the film - CBC
“Hamaguchi is a worker that feels like part of a rare, potentially dying breed of artist that wants to move, engage, and carry on a dialogue with the viewer minutes, hours, days, and years after the credits have rolled.” - The Gate
“Evil Does Not Exist, with its barely concealed anger and boldly direct commentary, is his most urgent and pointed work to date.” - The Charlatan
“Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, who wrote and directed it, won an Academy Award for his last one. He deserves another” - National Observer
Our film critic Tom McSorley reviews a Japanese film about a small town’s conflict between development and nature. - CBC Ottawa Morning
“Revisiting a film can bring out so much more than the initial viewing — sometimes it can truly be a blessing. For me, the chance to watch Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s brilliant Evil Does Not Exist thrice over in various settings — the Venice Film Festival, its theatrical release, and at a special screening with an accompanying talk by composer Eiko Ishibashi in Hong Kong — has only amplified my love for the film and its cryptic, challenging ambiguities, and its refusal to give easy answers.” - The Asian Cut
“This is a very good movie.” - Cultural Mining
“The story contains a mystery element with lots of solitude enabling Eiko’s music to make a greater impact” - AfroToronto.com
“a film worth seeing” - Classical 96 FM