SCREEN SHOT - Evil Does Not Exist

Drive My Car from 2021 won the Best International Feature Film at the Oscars for Rysuke Hamguchi. It was an ode to loss, love and grief, that was a slow, three hour elegaic movie that nevertheless managed to pack a huge emotional punch. His follow up Evil Does Not Exist, released in 2023, though only a hour and three quarters long, is equally quiet and measured in its pace, with a strong environment versus economics narrative.

The film opens with a very long continuous shot,as though we are walking through a forest of trees looking upwards. This cuts abruptly to Hana, an eight year old girl in the forest. She's the daughter of Takumi, a widower who describes himself as being a bit of an odd jobs man. He smokes cigarettes, chops firewood, collects stream water for the local restaurant and is devoted to his daughter. The mountain village he lives in appears peaceful. You get the feeling that everyone moves there to get away from modern urban life. Here they are just allowed to be.

Two representatives, a man and a woman, from a glamping firm hold a meeting in the village hall. They're making a presentation about the proposed development of a glamping site higher up in the mountains. All the villagers have concerns, mostly related to sewage from the site. Takumi points out that where they propose to site their septic tank is guaranteed to pollute the stream that brings water into the village. Plus, why is the tank of insufficient size to meet the camps needs when at full capacity? The couple cannot answer these questions, they are not responsible for making such decisions. They are merely the face of the company, they promise rather unconvincingly to take their concerns back.

In a subsequent zoom call with the glamping company's owner, its clear the operation is being run on a shoestring, is dependent on getting government subsidies, and hence is unwilling to make the changes the villagers request. But maybe they could pursued Takumi to become the site caretaker, then they might be able to get it passed the villagers. They return, but during the course of this there is an unexpected, mysterious turn of events.  

On one level this is an eco-parable, but it also presents to you a small closely knit community that knows everyone in it well. There maybe rough diamonds, but they'd be prepared to help anyone. The people from the glamping company are like fish out of water and always appear disingenuous. There is a clash of cultures here. The title Evil Does Not Exist appears in retrospect to be ironic. Because something nefarious does emerge, though it comes from an entirely unexpected direction. A melancholic and subtly haunting movie, that has hung around in my imagination for a long time subsequently.

CARROT REVIEW 6/8