The Eel

Koji Yakusho (the aspiring ballroom dancer in Shall We Dance) stars as Takuro Yamashita, who arrives in a remote seaside town to open a barbershop after spending eight years in prison for killing his unfaithful wife in a jealous rage. His most trusted confidant is his precious pet eel, which he adopted while in prison. Why an eel? "Because he listens to what I say, and he doesn't say what I don't want to hear," says Yamashita. Shohei Imamura's profoundly offbeat character study, which shared the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival with Taste of Cherry, begins as lurid drama, but blossoms into a moving story of redemption, as the taciturn Yamashita first saves, then is compelled to take in, the suicidal Keiko, who bears a resemblance to his wife. Predictably, the business improves from Keiko's helping hand; unpredictably, Keiko has her own checkered past, involving Dojima, a corrupt businessman and ex-lover who lays claim to Keiko's insane mother's savings. A decidedly odd (among the gallery of memorable characters who become fixtures at Yamashita's shop is a U.F.O enthusiast who wants to borrow Yamashita's barber pole to attract visiting aliens), but wonderful movie, this is highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)