Ningen Johatsu (1967)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Shohei Imamura

Release Date:

8 July 1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Documentary | Mystery

Plot Keywords:

Investigation | Interview | Intoxication | Police | Sisters

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Yoshie Hayakawa
Shohei Imamura
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi

Also Known As:

A Man Vanishes

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:U

Company:

Art Theatre Guild

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinéma, de notre temps: Shohei Imamura - Le libre penseur" (1995)

Special film from one of the most under appreciated directors ever.

A Man Vanishes is a really unique film. The film plays with the documentary form of filmmaking and what part a director plays in the forming of a documentary. The film is always interesting, and is consistenly surprising. This film never is even mentioned in the discussion of the director's work. This is unfortunate, due to the fact that on closer examination the film is tackling many different issues. During the filming the wife of the man that is missing, starts to fall in love with the director of the documentary. This is only one of the plot twists in the film. This is my personal favorite of all of Imamura's work. If you can't find this film rent another one, because he is one of the great surprises in the history of japanese film.