The Eel (Unagi) (1997)

76% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(2,850 ratings)

Veteran filmmaker and perennial iconoclast Shohei Imamura directs this darkly comic tale about love, redemption, and a man's beloved pet eel. The film opens with Takuro Yamashita (Koji Yakusho), a seemingly normal salaryman, learning that his wife might be having an affair. When he catches the… More Veteran filmmaker and perennial iconoclast Shohei Imamura directs this darkly comic tale about love, redemption, and a man's beloved pet eel. The film opens with Takuro Yamashita (Koji Yakusho), a seemingly normal salaryman, learning that his wife might be having an affair. When he catches the couple in flaganto delicto, he freaks out and brutally stabs them both to death. Eight years later, Yamashita is released on parole into the care of a Buddhist priest living in rural Chiba prefecture. Far away from his former life, yet still plagued with memories of his crime, Yamashita decides to start anew by opening a barbershop on a quiet road next to a canal. Though inward looking and self-conscious, he eventually befriends a bumptious but good-hearted day laborer, and a construction worker who's obsessed with UFOs. His most fateful encounter though is with a woman named Keiko (Misa Shimizu), who he discovers unconscious following a suicide attempt. Looking to put a few of her own demons to bed, Keiko decides to stay in this sleepy corner of Japan and help her savior with his barbershop. Initially against the idea -- she bears a striking resemblance to his dead spouse -- he eventually agrees and even grows to like having her around. This film won the Grand Prix at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Shohei Imamura
Written By: Shohei Imamura, Daisuke Tengan, Motofumi Tomikawa
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Aug 21, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Apr 12, 2005
Studio: Atalanta Filmes

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Unpredictable and captivating.
Paul Tatara, CNN.com
I was once again stuck watching a movie that's solely about repressed passion, perhaps the least cinematic thing you could ever try to film.
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
It sounds nuts, but one of the best movies in town is about the relationship of a man with his eel.
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times
Yakusho and Ms. Shimizu deliver unerring performances in a splendid film that harvests hope from a bleak landscape.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
This simple, sinuous fable may not be among Imamura's greatest films ... but it could hardly have been made by anyone else.
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Imamura composed The Eel with an artist's eye and takes his time, so don't expect a fast-paced American-style film.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
This excellent drama, based on a novel, reveals the beginning of a relationship between two souls who are trying to move beyond the wounds of the past.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
[An] odd, affecting little film.
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine
Yakusho gives a good performance in the lead role but the screenplay does not go beneath the surface of the characters.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An interesting film that works most effectively as an introspective study of how to deal with one's anger and love.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
A beautiful character study -- comedic scenes notwithstanding -- that ends on a hopeful note.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

Rage, remorse, regeneration, redemption, romance and a lot of frankly baffling whimsy. I felt this movie was just all over the map and did not satisfy. "An erotic spellbinder." ??????, um... no.
Jan Marc M

In the most perverse circumstances, a story of affection and redemption in The Eel. Reflective. Optimistic. Oddly charming.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "The Eel", Takuro Yamashita(Koji Yakusho) is an office worker who has been receiving anonymous letters about his wife's infidelity while he goes on nighttime fishing trips. In order to investigate these claims, he cuts one such trip short, and… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "The Eel", Takuro Yamashita(Koji Yakusho) is an office worker who has been receiving anonymous letters about his wife's infidelity while he goes on nighttime fishing trips. In order to investigate these claims, he cuts one such trip short, and does indeed catch her having sex with another man. He snaps and brutally murders her. Then, he calmly bikes down to the police station and turns himself in. Eight years later, he is released from prison on parole with his pet eel. He relocates to a sleepy seaside village under the watchful eye of his parole officer and with some inheritance money, he opens a barber shop, hoping to keep out of trouble. But then, he stumbles across an attempted suicide...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"The Eel" is an offbeat movie that would at first seem to be about redemption but is actually about how none of us are truly alone, either literally or figuratively. In other words, there is no way to avoid becoming involved in other people's lives.[/font]