The Face of Another (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 (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Mikijirô Hira, Kyôko Kishida

4 wins & 2 nominations.

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 explosion receives treatment from a psychiatrist, and obtains an amazingly life-like mask from the doctor. Soon after being fitted for the mask, he attempts to seduce 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 men and women 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 afterwards.

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Plot Keywords:

brother sister incest | allegory | philosophy | new identity | disfigured face | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

Referenced in Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)

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Soundtracks

Ten Little Indians
(uncredited)
Traditional American melody

User Reviews

Original

Me: ahh, no one can be beat Toshiro Mifune. Tatsuya Nakadai: Hold my beer.

P.S. Doctor's office look incredible. One of the best set designs ever.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese German

Release Date:

9 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Face of Another

Filming Locations:

Train Station, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,185

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