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Evil Does Not Exist
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Japan - Neopa Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (8th January 2025). |
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The Film
 "Evil Does Not Exist" 「悪は存在しない」 (2023) Takumi (played by Omika Hitoshi) was born and raised in the rural village of Mizubiki, living as a handyman for the community for their everyday needs. He is a single father to eight year old Hana (played by Nishikawa Ryo) and teaches her about the nature surrounding them, through the plants and the animals that they come across. A town meeting is held when representatives of an entertainment company show their presentation of how they will open a glamping site in the town, which would bring tourism and boost the area's economy. The representatives Takahashi (played by Kosaka Ryuji) and Mayuzumi (played by Shibutani Ayaka) are bombarded with comments and concerns from the locals who are afraid that such a place would pollute the water supply, disrupt the deer trail, and bring other problems from outside, with the showcased plans being inadequate. Following the international breakthrough that was "Drive My Car", filmmaker Hamaguchi Ryusuke and composer Ishibashi Eiko's next project would be a very different one from the Oscar winning feature. The concept was to make a 30 minute longform music video with Ishibashi's improvisational work as the music accompaniment. Ishibashi composed one cue which led to Hamaguchi deciding to create visuals that showcased man's relationship with nature in a rural environment. While the project grew, Hamaguchi started writing characters and a storyline to the script, and it essentially grew into a feature film with dialogue and a story in a traditional sense. The original idea was not abandoned, but instead the filming would be for two films - "Evil Does Not Exist" was with dialogue and a story, and the other being "GIFT" which used the visuals in a silent form for music accompaniment. Hamaguchi's films "Happy Hour" from 2015 and "Drive My Car" from 2021 were known for their lengthy runtimes and slow pace with space for silence in sequences, with a 5 hour and 3 hour runtimes respectively. "Evil Does Not Exist" is a very short film in comparison, only running 105 minutes which is fairly standard in cinematic terms, though at times it feels just as long as other works by Hamaguchi. The pacing is quit slow, and that is apparent from the opening sequence, being four minutes with a single tracking shot through the woods looking up at the sky with music accompaniment. It would take another few minutes until a single word is uttered by a character, and it is mostly inconsequential with many gaps in between through long takes. The style creates a sense of reality, with the natural dialogue, free of visual cutaways being closer to a documentary than a narrative feature. Not to say the entire film runs like this, as there are moments in which dialogue and cuts are more traditional such as in the town meeting scene. The character of Takumi might be more on the silent side, but Tatsuki (played by Torii Yuto) is quick to express his opinions in brute form against the two representatives, knowing that the reason they are rushing the glamping construction is so their company can receive government grants in time. While it may seem that he and some of the other villagers have solid opinions on why the company should reconsider their options, it may seem like the villagers are essentially against outsiders coming in, but that is not the case. Married couple Kazuo (played by Miura Hiroyuki) and Sachi (played by Kikuchi Hazuki) are in fact out of towners from Tokyo that relocated to the village and started a restaurant there after discovering how the area's water affected the cooking compared to the city. Outsiders are welcome, but as Takumi states, the balance of nature is very important. Takahashi and Mayuzumi are quite clueless about the town itself and how things are run, and their characters change the most in the course of the story following the town meeting. They start to understand that more information is necessary in order for the glamping project to actually work, and research and further development is essential. But in the Zoom meeting sequence with their boss Horiguchi (played by Miyata Yoshinori) and the consultant Hasegawa (played by Nagao Takuma), it's clear that they are not at all interested in changing the plans. For them the timeframe and the cost are what matters, and delays through research and changes would make things much worse in a corporate sense. Cashing in on the glamping craze and receiving the government subsidies in time are the most important for them to move forward. They are not at all planning to visit the site before construction and are only looking through papers and numbers for their answers. The most Takahashi and Mayuzumi think about their experience in the town and their time returning to discuss further plans to Takumi the following day, their appreciation for the rural life and ways grow in a way that would have never happened at their offices. But not everything is perfect, as seen through Takumi. He frequently forgets to pick up Hana after school, leading her to walk all the way home on her own. His wife has passed away though the circumstances are never revealed, though it is certain that he is still traumatized over the loss. But Takumi is the one who knows the landscape the best and he is for Takahashi and Mayuzumi the person they need to try to convince a bridge to build the glamping site that would be reasonable for everyone. But with balance being the key, anything new will lead to something going askew. It's notable that a number of actors in the film have had no prior experience in front of the camera. Omika previously worked on "Drive My Car" as a driver for the production crew and was a production assistant on Hamaguchi's omnibus film "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy" which was also released in 2021. Hamaguchi wrote the role of Takumi specifically with Omika in mind, and though it seems like Omika had the expertise of being a woodsman, he actually had to learn how to cut wood through three days of training. It's actually quite impressive how he was able to pull off the performance so naturally in a physical manner. His acting while praised is quite restrained, with little dialogue or emotion, though points are all expressed wonderfully. Kosaka was also a driver for the "Drive My Car" production crew. While he did in fact have experience as an actor on television and film in the past in minor mostly nameless roles, he effectively retired from being in front of the camera to working behind the scenes from 2018. Hamaguchi persuaded him to play the role of Takahashi which has been his biggest role to date, and his role as a corporate assistant that is contemplating his life decisions is a fantastic one. Torii and his rude yet honest portrayal of Tatsuki may seem like he was a veteran, but he was also in front of the camera for the first time, though he has some experience behind the scenes as an assistant director. Not all are complete newcomers. For Miura, Kikuchi, and Shibutani, they should be familiar faces to Hamaguchi fans as they all appeared in his film "Happy Hour" in 2015. The music score is one of the highlights of the film, with Ishibashi's haunting and elegant score placed in specific moments throughout the film. This is also coupled with the beautiful cinematography by Kitagawa Yoshio who also shot "Happy Hour" for Hamaguchi, with the rural landscape captured wonderfully. It is impossible to discuss about the film without talking about the ending. It is abrupt and it has a number of questions due to what is shown and what isn't shown. Hamaguchi has stated that it was important to leave things open ended and with questions for discussion, rather than having a standard end to the story which would make things less memorable. It is debatable if that is actually the better option, but it is true that the last five minutes of "Evil Does Not Exist" will linger in the minds of audiences long after the credits end. Leading up to the end, Hana has gone missing after school leading to a village wide search for her. Eventually Takumi and Takahashi find her in the middle of a field, staring at two deer - a parent and a child, with the young one bleeding from a bullet wound, most likely from the gunshot heard in the earlier scene. Hana tries to approach the deer, likely wanting to comfort them, which leads to Takahashi trying to go out to stop her. It is there that Takumi stops Takahashi by taking him down with a chokehold, which leaves Takahashi unconscious. When Takumi gets up and runs to the middle of the field, Hana is on the ground unconscious with a bloody nose, likely to have been knocked out from the wild deer. As Takumi mentioned in the earlier scene, deer are not aggressive unless they are provoked, such as if they have been shot or injured. If Takahashi tried to run in and stop Hana, the deer might have seen that as a larger sign of aggression and would have attacked them all more forcefully, which may have led to a more serious tragedy. But why did Takumi take out Takahashi in a chokehold? Explaining would not have been enough in his mind and it was about quick thinking. Explaining what the deer might do while Takahashi was already taking steps to go out to the field, Takumi saw that silence and being out of the way would have been safer for them, while his daughter would have been the only one attacked. But why would he let his daughter get injured? It was also a moment to teach his daughter of the consequences of nature, even as traumatic as what happened. Are Takahashi and Hana still alive? Most likely. Hana seems to have been knocked out with a bloody nose, and Takumi is quick to take her back to the village on foot for medical help. Takahashi on the other hand does wake from his chokehold to stumble around a bit before falling again, but he is most likely out of breath at this point with the struggle and the thin air of the cold temperature. Takumi seemingly leaves him in the field alone, but his main concern is taking Hana to safety, while Takahashi would be fine eventually. There are multiple interpretations to be found, with some saying the deer attack was just a dream and that Hana was already dead, and the animal instinct of Takumi taking over and killing Takumi, but none of these seem to quite add up. The men stop when they see Hana still standing and it would make no sense as to Takahashi standing and waiting if she were already dead and lying on the ground. In addition, if she were already on the ground, they would not have been able to see her from that distance. It is a simple state of Takumi being the key to holding the balance of nature and man together without disruption, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made, as dangerous as that may sound. The idea of a balance between nature and man has been not only a major point in a number of feature films, but in religion, tradition, and folktales from all around the world. "Evil Does Not Exist" does not particularly preach to one choir, but it does emphasize the importance of the balance and how modern man is increasingly becoming distant from nature, while even the people that seemingly understand it have flaws to overcome. The film was first screened at the Venice International Film Festival on September 4th, 2023 where it won the Grand Jury Prize and four other awards. It was screened at numerous festivals around the world through the rest of 2023 and throughout 2024, with some general theatrical releases starting in 2024. It opened theatrically in Japan on April 26th, 2024 and was distributed independently. As it did not feature major stars or have major backing like "Drive My Car" did, it did not have a widespread audience, though it received critical acclaim. The film has won a number of prestigious awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Best Film and Best Original Music at the Asian Film Awards, Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival. The sister film "GIFT" was first screened on October 18th, 2023 at the Film Fest Gent in Ghent, Belgium with a live performance by Ishibashi. The film was further screened at various festivals and venues with live music, and was screened in Japan from October 2024 with additional screenings and performances in the country and in South Korea in the following month. The film has already received a few Blu-ray releases around the world already before its native country which is slightly unusual for a new Japanese film, and now distributor Neopa has finally issued "Evil Does Not Exist" on the Blu-ray format in Japan a good half year after its theatrical opening, in a slightly frustrating release. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
wNeopa presents the film in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The film was shot digitally on a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 at 6K resolution and post production work was completed in 4K resolution. The look of nature from the shades of earth tones, brightness of sunlight, white of the snow, and the darkness at night are all well reproduced in the transfer here. Colors are natural and the image is very sharp throughout, with excellent depth and there are no issues to be faulted with the image quality in this HD transfer. A stellar transfer to disc from Neopa. The film's runtime is 105:55. Note that the credits and the opening title are in English, as they were theatrically worldwide including Japan. There is no version of the film that has Japanese titles or credits.
Audio
Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo There are two audio options for the film. A 5.1 mix and an audio descriptive track. It should be stated first that there isn't a lossless audio track, and it is a great disservice to the hauntingly beautiful score by Ishibashi to be encoded with lossy audio on the Blu-ray format, especially when other releases from other countries contain a lossless 5.1 track on their Blu-ray releases. The 5.1 track while lossy is still a great one, with excellent separation and use of the surround channels for the score as well as the subtle effects from the sounds of nature to the gunshot near the end. The dialogue is almost always centered and is well balanced against the music and effects. There are no major issues to report but the lack of a lossless track is a sore one. The audio descriptive track has a male narrator. There are optional English, Japanese HoH subtitles for the main feature in a white font. They are well timed, easy to read and without errors.
Extras
"GIFT" (special excerpt) + Ishibashi Eiko live performance at Film Fest Gent (8:36) Presented here is an excerpt of the sister film "GIFT" with audio from the live performance by Ishibashi at the film's premiere at the Film Fest Gent in Ghent, Belgium on October 18th, 2023. It shares a number of scenes from "Evil Does Not Exist", though there are a few exclusive shots, and there is English text to introduce Hana and Takumi’s characters. Note that the feature film is screened in color, but is presented here with a black and white grading. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.66:1, Music Dolby Digital 2.0 with English text Bunkamura Le Cinema Shibuya Miyashita opening day stage greeting (30:36) Presented here is a post screening stage greeting on April 26th, 2024, in which Hamaguchi, Omika, Nishikawa, Kosaka, and Shibutani appear for some brief statements. Discussed are about the unusual casting of Omika in the lead, working with Hamaguchi, how the project came about, and there is also a written letter by Ishibashi read out loud with her gratitude for the film(s). in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Remaining Days" short by Hitoshi Omika (31:03) Three young men agree at a bar to meet at the top of a mountain, but an incident with a taxi driver leads to tragedy on the way. The short film, titled 「余る日」 or "Remaining Days" is the second work directed by Omika following the sixty-minute feature film "Father, Father" from 2023. It shares similarities with Hamaguchi's style with long takes, naturalistic dialogue, and uses of silence to accentuate the reality. While there are some good moments through the performances, it does feel a bit incomplete as there is little given to the backgrounds of characters or the consequences afterward. The short was released theatrically in Japan on November 26th, 2024. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 without subtitles Booklet A 24 page booklet is included. This includes an introduction, an awards listing, a synopsis, a character listing, a cast & staff listing with biographies and filmographies, a written message from Ishibashi from November 2024, information on "Remaining Days", a text conversation with Hamaguchi and Omika, credits for the film, and stills. All text is in Japanese. The film was released on Blu-ray in Germany by Pandora and in Italy by CG Entertainment, both having no extras. In France it was released by Diaphana which has an exclusive interview with Hamaguchi. In the UK it was released by Modern Films which seemingly has no extras (disc specs are TBC). In Hong Kong it was released by Edko, which had a photo gallery and a trailer as the minor extras (full specs TBC). The US release was by The Criterion Collection under their Janus Contemporaries label, which has an exclusive interview with Hamaguchi and the trailer. All releases except the Japanese release feature lossless audio. None of the releases truly feel "complete", as they all lack the sister film "GIFT" and there are no behind the scenes footage or featurettes on the making of the film. It almost seems inevitable that there will be a complete set for the two sister films together, but there is none available at this time. Other notable clips: The US trailer Critic Mark Kermode's very positive review of the film Mark Kermode's introduction for the film for the BFI Player Hamaguchi at the New York Film Festival discussing the film Hamguchi, Ishibashi, and Omika discuss about the film at the New York Film Festival Trailer for Omika's "Father, Father" (2023)
Packaging
The disc and booklet are packaged in a standard Blu-ray keep case which is black. This is housed in a slipcover. The inlay and the slipcover have differing artwork.
Overall
"Evil Does Not Exist" is easily the best and most thought provoking new film I saw last year and a subsequent viewing on disc has held up that opinion. It may frustrate some audiences while others will be mesmerized, Hamaguchi has yet again crafted an exceptional work and composer Ishibashi's score is also the best film score of the year. The Blu-ray from Neopa is frustrating, as it has an excellent transfer, but lacks lossless audio, and the extras are seemingly incomplete with the lack of the sister film "GIFT" and not including anything from behind the scenes. The film comes as highly recommended, but it almost seems inevitable that a grander edition packaging both films would be coming in the future.
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