Hebi no michi

Serpent's Path is one of two movies on the same subject--revenge--Kurosawa shot back to back; the other is Eyes of the Spider. This film deals with two men, one a former low-level yakuza member obsessed with avenging the murder of his young daughter, and the other, a deceptively mild-mannered math professor who is helping the grieving father for reasons that are at first unclear.

As he often does, Kurosawa uses a conventional genre (here, the revenge film) as a way to explore the hidden darker side of human nature. In Serpent's Path, the theme is that once one has given oneself over to the most base instincts one has, such as violence and vengefulness, there is no crossing back. And that this is a risk for everyone, even, as we find, an "average guy" like the professor. His real motives provide the movie with its chilling finale. (But the movie is not all dour seriousness; Kurosawa works in much black humor as well, as in the golf-course abduction scene.) In all, a first-rate thriller worthy of David Fincher.

A rather nasty, sad story of this made by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and written by Hiroshi Takahashi about an awful tale of people torturing and killing young girls and then selling their videos. Clearly the yakuza are involved but who exactly is doing it? This guy, who's daughter was killed, and worse, gets his mathematics teacher to help him and find the man who did it. It gets rather complicated not only about the maths but about the others who have to find them and some more will have to die. It is rather good and unusual but unfortunately, of course, the path of revenge and violence goes on and on.

Forget moral intent (don't shame Boston, buddy), as it has never been one of K. Kurosawa's goals in his films. What is here is his typical great, atmospheric camera work, an excellent storyline and complex characters. By the way, the temporal order of the film is not in the least confusing, the principal has a flashback or two, but they are not obtuse at all. That said, this is probably one of the few movies Kurosawa has made of late which betrays his sense of humor. I may be going a bit far here, but it may be the blackest comedy EVER. Just have a look at the flashback at the end and the cheesy credit music tell me its not supposed to be a bit humorous. Anyhow, a great film by a great director, even though it was made on a limited budget with the same actors and crew from what could be called its sister film, "Eyes of the Spider" (Kumo no hitomi).

I find myself a bit befuddled by 'Serpent's path.' It has all the narrative hallmarks of a thriller, but for most of its length is so direly plainspoken in its depiction of events that it feels more like a static portrait of crime. The picture is mostly bereft of music, notable sound is sparse, and it launches into the plot from the very beginning with no exposition to be had. What slight early turns there may be in the plot feel perfunctory and unexceptional; story beats come and go without leaving much of an impression, even as moments of dry, dark humor add spice.

It's not until the last quarter or so of its runtime that 'Serpent's path' becomes distinctly charged, but from that point on it's outstanding. In retrospect we see how the entirety of the preceding scenes were slowly building into the final minutes, helping to elevate them above the unremarkable tone initially conveyed and casting the entirety in a new light. True overall but especially nearer the end, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa arranges some fine, eye-catching shots. At last his vision bears fruit, conjured from Hiroshi Takahashi's screenplay, and it's flavorful. The climax, and the twist leading into the last scene, are fantastic.

I just wish it were more consistent. It's noteworthy that 'Serpent's path' suffers from poor lighting that obscures the events during the most crucial time - at the climax. Small, quiet scenes inserted throughout, not immediately relevant to the acts of revenge, do have a purpose - yet still feel scattershot, disconnected, and unclear. That the movie seems a little unconventional in its storytelling is admirable, at length making it more intriguing - but only after that same bent previously made our engagement with the feature more difficult.

While it's hard to feel fully invested early on, ultimately this is a film quite worth watching. It may well be that other viewers will find it easier to become immersed than I have, and I admit a repeat visit might resolve the problems I've recognized. Even with its flaws, when all is said and done the good handily outweighs the questionable. 'Serpent's path' feels like an offbeat crime thriller of a style all its own, and wherever one may be able to find this, it's an imperfect but rewarding view to seek out.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa has established himself as an accomplished and prolific director, though maybe he's always going to be in the shadow of Akira Kurosawa. Even though they're not related. But idiots like me thought they were, and there'd have to be some other people that had that same misconception, right? Maybe subconsciously, people are going to link two Japanese Kurosawas who direct movies anyway.

Anyway, based on this film and 1997's Cure, I feel like he's been talented enough to be taken on his own terms. And any similarities between his films and Akira's are minor-maybe some plot stuff and themes, but the presentation has seemed different in each. Therefore, even if they were related, I still don't think it would be fair to connect them too heavily.

Serpent's Pass is a revenge film, but it doesn't provide much catharsis or excitement. The gritty, low budget look enhances the emptiness and hollowness of the revenge. It's just all very dark and despairing, and while it sapped me of the little energy I had tonight, I do also appreciate it for that.

It's another one of those feel-bad movies, but it's good at making you feel bad, so I guess that goes ahead and makes it a good movie. I therefore would find it hard to recommend to most people, but at the same time, it is engaging and nice and short, too, at 85 minutes. For those looking for a dark, short thriller, I'd say it's a good pick.