Evil Does Not Exist

Evil Does Not Exist (Japanese: 悪は存在しない, Hepburn: Aku wa Sonzai Shinai) is a 2023 Japanese drama film written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Not to be confused with There Is No Evil.

Evil Does Not Exist
Japanese name
Kanji悪は存在しない
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnAku wa Sonzai Shinai
Directed byRyusuke Hamaguchi
Written byRyusuke Hamaguchi
Produced bySatoshi Takata[1]
Starring
  • Hitoshi Omika
  • Ryo Nishikawa
  • Ryuji Kosaka
  • Ayaka Shibutani
CinematographyYoshio Kitagawa[1]
Edited by
  • Ryusuke Hamaguchi[1]
  • Azusa Yamazaki[1]
Music byEiko Ishibashi[1]
Production
company
NEOPA Inc.[1]
Release date
  • 4 September 2023 (2023-09-04) (Venice)
Running time
106 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics. It was awarded Best Film at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival.[2]

Plot

"Deep in the forest of the small rural village Harasawa, single parent Takumi lives with his young daughter, Hana, and takes care of odd jobs for locals, chopping wood and hauling pristine well water. The overpowering serenity of this untouched land of mountains and lakes, where deer peacefully roam free, is about to be disrupted by the imminent arrival of the Tokyo company Playmode, which is ready to start construction on a glamping site for city tourists—a plan, which Takumi and his neighbors discover, that will have dire consequences for the ecological health and cleanliness of their community."[3]

Cast
  • Hitoshi Omika as Takumi[4]
  • Ryo Nishikawa as Hana[4]
  • Ryuji Kosaka as Takahashi[4]
  • Ayaka Shibutani as Mayuzumi[4]
  • Hazuki Kikuchi[1]
  • Hiroyuki Miura[1]

Production

Hamaguchi started working on the film in January 2023, with the intention of it being a 30-minute short film accompanied by a live score composed by Eiko Ishibashi, the production ended up getting lengthier as the shoot went along and Hamaguchi decided to turn it into a feature film with dialogue.[5]

In July 2023, it was announced that Hamaguchi had two new films scheduled for world premieres at the fall festival season: Evil Does Not Exist and Gift; with the latter being the originally-intended version without dialogue with Ishibashi's live score and which will have its world premiere at Belgium's Film Fest Ghent in October 2023.[6]

Release

Evil Does Not Exist was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival,[7] where it had its world premiere on 4 September 2023.[1] Following screenings at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and 2023 New York Film Festival.[8][9]

It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Icon' section and was screened on 7 October 2023.[10]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 40 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[12]

Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations for Evil Does Not Exist
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Venice Film Festival 9 September 2023 Golden Lion Ryusuke Hamaguchi Nominated [13]
Grand Jury Prize Won [14]
Premio CinemaSarà - Special Mention Won [15]
Edipo Re Award - Ca'Foscari Young Jury Award Won
Premio Fondazione Fai Persona Lavoro Ambiente Won
FIPRESCI Award Won
San Sebastián International Film Festival 30 September 2023 Lurra - Greenpeace Award Evil Does Not Exist Won [16]
BFI London Film Festival 15 October 2023 Best Film Won [2]
Chicago International Film Festival 22 October 2023 Gold Hugo Nominated [17]
Montclair Film Festival 29 October 2023 Fiction Feature Pending [18]

References
  1. "Aku wa sonzai shinai (Evil Does Not Exist)". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  2. "Award winners announced at 67th BFI London Film Festival". BFI. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  3. "Evil Does Not Exist". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. Kiang, Jessica (4 September 2023). "'Evil Does Not Exist' Review: Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Tale of Rural Gentrification Is a Tone Poem with an Atonal End". Variety. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  5. "Update on Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's 'Evil Does Not Exist'". World of Reel. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. Newman, Nick (25 July 2023). "Ryūsuke Hamaguchi Will Debut His Second New Film of 2023, Gift, with a Live Score from Eiko Ishibashi This October". Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  7. Tartaglione, Nancy (25 July 2023). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Mann, Lanthimos, Fincher, DuVernay, Cooper, Besson, Coppola, Hamaguchi In Competition; Polanski, Allen, Anderson, Linklater Out Of Competition – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  8. Lattanzio, Ryan (10 August 2023). "TIFF 2023 Centerpiece Program Showcases Aki Kaurismäki, Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  9. Rubin, Rebecca (8 August 2023). "New York Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup: 'Zone of Interest,' 'Poor Things,' 'Anatomy of a Fall' and More". Variety. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  11. "Evil Does Not Exist". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  12. "Evil Does Not Exist". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  13. "Venezia 80 Competition". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  14. Tartaglione, Nancy; Ntim, Zac (9 September 2023). "Venice Winners: Golden Lion Goes To Yorgos Lanthimos For 'Poor Things'; Hamaguchi, Sarsgaard, Spaeny Also Score — Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  15. "COLLATERAL AWARDS OF THE 80TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL". La Biennale di Venezia. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  16. Tinoco, Armando (30 September 2023). "San Sebastian Film Festival Winners: Jaione Camborda's 'The Rye Horn' Takes Golden Shell For Best Film". Deadline. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  17. Kay, Jeremy (14 September 2023). "'Fallen Leaves', 'About Dry Grasses', 'La Chimera' among Chicago fest international line-up (exclusive)". Screendaily. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  18. Moye, Clarence (29 September 2023). "Montclair Film Announces Complete 2023 Montclair Film Festival Program". Awards Daily. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.