A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.
We look at the most anticipated streaming titles for June 2020, from "The Twilight Zone" Season 2 to Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods.
Related News
-
Interview with Jasper Sharp: The pink film industry is a pale shadow of what it was from the 1960s up to the 2000s
17 April 2020 | AsianMoviePulse -
Top 5 Asian Movies Hopeless Romantics Need to Watch Now
10 July 2019 | AsianMoviePulse -
Filmart: Japanese Screen Icon Koji Yakusho Reflects on 40 Years of Filmmaking (Q&A)
18 March 2019 | The Hollywood Reporter
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Eel (1997)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
16 wins & 14 nominations.
See more awards »
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Kôji Yakusho | ... | Takuro Yamashita | |
| Misa Shimizu | ... | Keiko Hattori | |
 |
Mitsuko Baishô | ... | Misako Nakajima |
|
|
Akira Emoto | ... | Tamotsu Takasaki |
|
|
Fujio Tokita | ... | Jiro Nakajima |
| Shô Aikawa | ... | Yuji Nozawa | |
|
|
Ken Kobayashi | ... | Masaki Saito |
|
|
Sabu Kawahara | ... | Seitaro Misato |
|
|
Etsuko Ichihara | ... | Fumie Hattori |
| Tomorô Taguchi | ... | Eiji Dojima | |
|
|
Chiho Terada | ... | Emiko Yamashita |
|
|
Shinshô Nakamaru | ||
|
|
Sei Hiraizumi | ||
|
|
Seiji Kurasaki | ||
|
|
Toshirô Ishidô | ||
Learn more
More Like This
Black Rain
(1989)
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Yoshiko Tanaka,
Kazuo Kitamura,
Etsuko Ichihara
The Insect Woman
(1963)
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Emiko Aizawa,
Setsuko Amamiya,
Tomio Aoki
The Ballad of Narayama
(1983)
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Ken Ogata,
Sumiko Sakamoto,
Tonpei Hidari
Dr. Akagi
(1998)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
History
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Akira Emoto,
Kumiko Asô,
Jacques Gamblin
Profound Desires of the Gods
(1968)
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Rentarô Mikuni,
Chôichirô Kawarasaki,
Hideko Okiyama
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Kôji Yakusho,
Misa Shimizu,
Mitsuko Baishô
Zegen
(1987)
Comedy
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Ken Ogata,
Mitsuko Baishô,
Chun-Hsiung Ko
Vengeance Is Mine
(1979)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Ken Ogata,
Rentarô Mikuni,
Chôchô Miyako
Why Not?
(1981)
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Shigeru Izumiya,
Kaori Momoi,
Masao Kusakari
Pigs and Battleships
(1961)
Action
|
Comedy
|
Crime
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Hiroyuki Nagato,
Jitsuko Yoshimura,
Masao Mishima
The Pornographers
(1966)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Shôichi Ozawa,
Sumiko Sakamoto,
Keiko Sagawa
Intentions of Murder
(1964)
Drama
Director:
Shôhei Imamura
Stars:
Masumi Harukawa,
Kô Nishimura,
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
White-collar worker Yamashita finds out that his wife has a lover visiting her when he's away, suddenly returns home and kills her. After eight years in prison, he returns to live in a small village, opens a barber shop (he was trained as a barber in prison) and talks almost to no-one except for the eel he "befriended" in prison. One day he finds the unconscious body of Keiko, who attempted suicide and reminds him of his wife. She starts to work at his shop, but he doesn't let her become close to him. Written by Anonymous
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia
Winner of the 1997 Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival tied with another title Taste of Cherry from Iran. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
JapanLanguage:
JapaneseRelease Date:
21 August 1998 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Eel See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$29,879, 23 August 1998Gross USA:
$418,480Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$418,480Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (Directors Cut)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1Contribute to This Page
On IMDb TV, you can catch Hollywood hits and popular TV series at no cost. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free!
I actually enjoyed the film a lot. Maybe it's not one of the most articulated films, but there was liveliness in it,and i think that's the reason the eel got cannes. The lives of misunderstood,isolated finds the peace with themselves in a remote country side, reminded me of Mediterriano a bit. The man's murder, suicidal heroine and her mad mother, a guy who is obsessed with UFO, which seems unexplainable and their lives are narrated in a messiest possible way. I think this film is not for analysis or for coming to conclusion, the director wants to show a utopia where misfits can be forgiven and find a harmony with the world, where a human communicates with an eel. And where people can have a chance to get redemption,,,