Featured Audience Ratings

• Randy T

  
  This is a film that crawls around inside your head long after the credits have rolled and the lights have come back on. A person could spend hours analyzing and dissecting the symbolism and social commentary.

• danny d

  
  what a brilliant film. entrenched in philosophy, the dialogue in the film and the films entire concept were incredibly profound and thought provoking. nakadai put in a great performance as always and the images produced through some great cinematography were perfect for creating… More
  what a brilliant film. entrenched in philosophy, the dialogue in the film and the films entire concept were incredibly profound and thought provoking. nakadai put in a great performance as always and the images produced through some great cinematography were perfect for creating just the right feel for the subject matter. a phenomenal film.

• Devon B

  
  A man with a burned face teeters on the brink of madness, torturing himself and his wife with his daily obsessions over appearance and how people are looking at him. He goes to his psychiatrist friend who also happens to be an expert in prosthetics, and is given a lifelike mask to… More
  A man with a burned face teeters on the brink of madness, torturing himself and his wife with his daily obsessions over appearance and how people are looking at him. He goes to his psychiatrist friend who also happens to be an expert in prosthetics, and is given a lifelike mask to wear, only so the Doctor can observe and study his reaction to the mask. Soon, the man has an entirely new outlook on life, but the doctor wonders if it's the man or the mask that's living this way. There's quite a surrealistic element to this film, especially with the subplot involving a disfigured girl, suicides, and Nagasaki. Unfortunately, these surrealistic elements tend to sidetrack the main narrative rather than enhance it. And while the direction is sometimes amazing, it just as often gets lost in poor editing decisions. There are scenes that have no business being in the movie or being as long as they are, and it slows the story down to a halt. I'm also not quite sure what conclusion the film intends to lead me to. I'm not sure the filmmakers knew what conclusion they were leading me to either. Having said this, I can't deny the film has a certain charisma that draws you in, and the performances by the lead actors are really quite good. In any event, I'd trade a thousand Hannah Montana films for just one film like this. A for effort.

• El Hombre I

  
  A highly stylized, psychologically dense, and provocative analysis on identity, persona, freedom, and intimacy. The film asks, "If no one knew who you were, what kind of mischief would you get into?" What would happen to society if we were all anonymous? A must see for… More
  A highly stylized, psychologically dense, and provocative analysis on identity, persona, freedom, and intimacy. The film asks, "If no one knew who you were, what kind of mischief would you get into?" What would happen to society if we were all anonymous? A must see for lovers of film and art in general to experience for its' cinematic eye, the surrealistic descent into the mind of a man conflicted about his own identity, the horror and sci-fi themes and its' highly effective score and performances. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=faceofanother.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/faceofanother.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Eric B

  
  "Civilization demands light, even at night. But a man without a face is free only when darkness rules the world." The high-concept plot of "The Face of Another" suggests a horror film, but it's really more of a psychological think-piece. Okuyama (Tatsuya… More
  "Civilization demands light, even at night. But a man without a face is free only when darkness rules the world." The high-concept plot of "The Face of Another" suggests a horror film, but it's really more of a psychological think-piece. Okuyama (Tatsuya Nakadai) is a business executive whose face has been gruesomely burnt in a chemical accident. He spends his day wrapped behind bandages, bitterly loathing himself and his plight. Even his wife can't bear to be around him anymore. But Okuyama finds a doctor with a sophisticated procedure for taking a mold of another face (the two pay a random man for the privilege) and creating an undetectable, form-fitting mask. The doctor is brimming with philosophy about the relationship between face and personality, and warns there will be emotional repercussions when Okuyama changes the interface through which he views the world and it views him. Eventually, the issue narrows to the familiar scenario of the implausibly unrecognized husband trying to seduce his wife as a "stranger" to see what happens. Somewhat disappointing. Director Hiroshi Teshigahara ("Woman in the Dunes," "Pitfall") also makes a strange choice to add a second, sketchier story that never intersects with the first. This tale follows another person with disfiguring facial scars -- this time, a once-pretty young woman who's apparently living in some sort of asylum. The purpose of this sidelight is somewhat mysterious and unresolved, as is a peculiar subplot about a girl with a baffling fixation on yo-yos. Like with Teshigahara's other well-known films, existential issues of identity are a prime concern and the imagery has a surreal, allegorical quality that Rod Serling would have appreciated.

• Daniel D

  
  The Face of Another, unlike Pitfall is highly symbolic and relatable. It's a story of identity, and the constant way humans cover up imperfections. Highly philosophical and especially the first half has deep thoughts. Add this to the beautiful but simple visuals, and it's a… More
  The Face of Another, unlike Pitfall is highly symbolic and relatable. It's a story of identity, and the constant way humans cover up imperfections. Highly philosophical and especially the first half has deep thoughts. Add this to the beautiful but simple visuals, and it's a real treat. This reminded me of so many other films. The Elephant Man and The House is Black immediately come to mind. Then the surreal first half brought Persona and Un Chien Andalou into the mix. I talk about the first half more since it was far more memorable. After the mask came on this became more straightforward, and less stunning. It still brought up interesting new ideas, but lost the spookiness, and emptiness. Which perhaps was intentional, since by the end the main character is completely transformed. I love the opening scene, and all the scenes involving the creation of the mast. Enjoyable art movie.

• Doctor S

  
  This movie is rather...strange. Quite strange. Hard to categorize - part psychodrama, part thriller, part new wave, and not really any of those. Moves slowly but I was kept occupied (I kept thinking the psychiatrist/maskmaker had an ulterior motive), but an unrelated sideplot… More
  This movie is rather...strange. Quite strange. Hard to categorize - part psychodrama, part thriller, part new wave, and not really any of those. Moves slowly but I was kept occupied (I kept thinking the psychiatrist/maskmaker had an ulterior motive), but an unrelated sideplot involving a scarred woman seemed repetitive of the main story and therefore rather pointless. Some diverting avant-garde sets and non-sequiturs (woman's bed flying through the city??) kept things edgy. A commendable experiment from '60s Japanese cinema.

• Christopher B

  
  Another incredible adaptation of a Kobo Abe novel by the amazing Hiroshi Teshigahara. Having just finished the novel, I might even go as far as to say the movie was better. The addition of the doctor was an ingenius one and the filmmaking is simply fantastic. Every shot could be… More
  Another incredible adaptation of a Kobo Abe novel by the amazing Hiroshi Teshigahara. Having just finished the novel, I might even go as far as to say the movie was better. The addition of the doctor was an ingenius one and the filmmaking is simply fantastic. Every shot could be framed and put up on a wall (more than likely, the strange wall of the doctor's office). Another masterpiece resulting from the author and director's team ups.

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