Tanin no kao (1966)

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.

Director:

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Writers:

Kôbô Abe (screenplay), Kôbô Abe (novel)

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Mikijirô Hira, Kyôko Kishida

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Mr. Okuyama
Mikijirô Hira	...	Psychiatrist
Kyôko Kishida	...	Nurse
Miki Irie	...	Girl with Scar
Eiji Okada	...	The Boss
Minoru Chiaki	...	Apartment Superintendent
Hideo Kanze	...	Male Patient
Kunie Tanaka	...	Patient at Mental Hospital
Etsuko Ichihara	...	Yo-Yo Girl
Eiko Muramatsu	...	Secretary
Yoshie Minami	...	Old Lady
Hisashi Igawa	...	Man with Mole
Kakuya Saeki	...	Elder Brother of Girl with Scar
Sen Yano	...	Mentally Ill Man A
Beverly Maeda	...	Singer in Bar (as Bibari Maeda)

Storyline

A businessman facially scarred in a laboratory fire receives psychotherapy from a psychiatrist, and obtains an amazingly lifelike mask from the doctor. Soon after being fitted for the mask, he seduces his wife and succeeds. But his wife claims she was aware all along who he was and believed that both were just masquerading together as most couples usually do in different ways. Strangely enough, his personality seemingly begins to change after he puts on the mask as if the mask has influenced his personality. His new identity does not enable him to reintegrate into society after all. A subplot is inserted in fragments. A good-natured young woman, the right side of whose face is disfigured, has been hurt by others' inquisitive eyes and insults, and has been shunned by men. She asks her older brother, the only man who understands her pain and solitude, to make love to her, hiding from him the intent of killing herself after then.

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Plot Keywords:

head bandage | morality | explosion | chemical explosion | plastic surgeon | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

9 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Have a Stranger's Face

Filming Locations:

Train Station, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Teshigahara Productions, Tokyo Eiga Co Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the third of four film collaborations involving director Hiroshi Teshigahara, author Kôbô Abe, and scorer Tôru Takemitsu. Their other film collaborations were Pitfall (1962), Woman in the Dunes (1964), and The Man Without a Map (1968).

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Quotes

Psychiatrist: You're not the only lonely man. Being free always involves being lonely. Just there is a mask you can peel off and another you can not.

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Connections

References The Invisible Man (1933)

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Soundtracks

Waltz
(uncredited)
Music by Tôru Takemitsu
Lyrics by Tatsuji Iwabuchi

User Reviews

Lyrically Creepy...

movie about self perception and the bond between the mind and the body...soundtrak really set the mood for the increasing horror in the story line. Nakadai downplays his role to give an overall flawless performance. Watch for some really good lines which will undoubtedly force the viewer to start thinking right away which may distract from the plot (but hey, it's an artsy masterpiece right?)...There is a lot of experimentation in the cinematography such as a door which opens and reveals a cluster of hair in ocean tides...this effect serves to foreshadow the action but may in the view of modern audiences comes across as trying TOO hard to be an art film. I left the movie still trying to link the two parallel story lines in the film and you may too...but don't worry you get two stories for the price of one...DO NOT watch this movie in the dark even though there is nothing VISUALLY terrifying it is still a great horror film...