Hasen no marisu

This year during the Danish "Natfilm" festival i was eyewitness to one of the best movies ever to come out of Japan.

The story of a hardworking television-editor (played by Hitomi Kuroki) who has her own opinion of the truth in the stories she´s working on, get´s trapped in her very own spell, when a man gives her.............. That´s enough for now. There´s no need to tell more from the movie but the way it ends is in my opinion one of the most surprising (and best) endings I have seen in a very long time.

The worst thing that could happen to this movie, is that some "fool" in Hollywood decides to make an American remake. Why I say that is because when you have seen the original you don´t want it to get spoiled by "the true American standard for remaking good movies and turning them bad" organisation.

Far from one of the best J/ese films ever made, but still well worth watching.

Hitchcock's influence looms very large in this film. The story is basically a war of nerves between video editor Yoko Endo and suspected accomplice to murder Kimiko Asao. The see-sawing between them, augmented by the actions of a few characters more peripheral, keeps the story steadily moving along and very well holds the interest.

And, like Hitch, the film raises more than one edgy moral issue, and the washup is quite something.

Hitomi Kuroki is the star, and she does a creditable job. But Takanori Jinnai is simply stunning. The way this guy uses facial expression alone makes the film worth watching.

Definitely recommended. English title is "The Frame".