VENGEANCE IS MINE (Fukushû suru wa ware ni ari) (1979)
Director: Shohei Imamura
Based on a true spree of murders spanning the entire island of Japan and lasting seventy-eight days, Vengeance Is Mine is an interesting window into Japanese culture and the nation’s coming of modernism after the devastation caused by the two fat boys of WWII. The story does focus on murderer Iwao Enokizu’s killing spree–Imamura shows us, through a series of flashbacks, the odd upbringing a Catholic-born boy in a predominantly Buddhist nation. Though he rejects his family’s religion in search for normality, Vengeance Is Mine is a character study of the human psyche. Imamura’s talented use of voyeurism is the perfect eye for this and it certainly makes for a spectacular work of art. Engaging, fast-paced and daring, Vengeance Is Mine is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.