The Village Review: The latest Japanese thriller suspense drama film (ヴィレッジ) on Netflix is directed by Michihito Fujii and produced by Ryo Yukizane, and Michiaki Tsunoda. The cinematography is done by Tomoyuki Kawakami. It has a runtime of about 2 hours.
The cast of the film includes Ryusei Yokohama as Yu Katayama, Haru Kuroki as Misaki Nakai, Arata Furuta as Shusaku Ohashi, Shido Nakamura as Kokichi Ohashi, Wataru Ichinose as Toru Ohashi, Daiken Okudaira as Ryuta Kakei, Ryuto Sakuma as Keiichi Nakai, Tetta Sugimoto as Masaru Maruoka, Naomi Nishida as Kimie Katayama and Hana Kino as Fumi Ohashi.
The film starts off in a dramatic setting, as the Noh play is going on and at a distance, a man covered in blood is spilling gasoline all over the house. As the performance reaches its climax, the man pulls out his lighter and puts everything on fire, along with him. Meanwhile, his son is among the audience, getting moved by the Noh performance. He is Yu Katayama, the lead protagonist of the story who has to live with the burden of his parent’s actions, in the present day.
He works in a recycling dumpsite and is openly bullied by his peers, even the village people are wary of him and often wish that he leaves the Kamon village. On top of it, his mother is addicted to Pachinko and ends up taking a loan from a shark, making Yu take part in illegal activities, to pay them off. Suddenly he is relieved of all the burdens on his shoulders when his childhood friend Misaki comes back to the village. Through her encouragement, he tries to have a new beginning but the thread of ill-fate clutches him back to what he always feared.
The suspense in this slow-burning drama is well-knitted until the climax, which pushes Yu to his limits. Usually in stories set against the backdrop of a small hamlet, the people are shown as pure-hearted or it’s the place where people come back to find joy in day-to-day life. However, in this film, the village is a place where one would want to escape from. The reason could be the enormous waste disposal plant that is slowly taking over the pristine mountains and the characters associated with pushing its further takeover.
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Certain subjects like social inequality, lack of work opportunities or toxic work culture and environmental issues are highlighted through Yu’s struggle, to come to terms with his own self. Ryusei Yokohama portrays the character of Yu, who is almost at the edge of giving up everything and is barely living, quite perfectly. Especially through the body language when Yu feels worthless & just accepts his mistreatment, his posture is always slouching as if so much weight is on his back that he can barely stand straight or even look up.
And when he starts to believe in himself & gains some confidence, he stands completely straight and is able to look people in the eyes. However, this is the point in the story which felt a bit lacking. As detailed his initial struggle is shown, it feels like his life transforms magically. Instead of suddenly showing him all bright & happy, there should be some hints of grey that would keep one on the toes, thinking about what bad could entail next.
It is not a typical good vs bad story but rather shows how there’s a blurry line between the two sides, depending on your perspective. As long as there’s an external factor to put the blame on for your misfortune, you are on the good side. But when you find yourself in their position, the distinction seems to disappear when one’s life is going well. Here the impact of decisions comes to mind, even in the same position, the decision taken by one can change everything or take you to the same downfall, that you hoped for the bad guy in your eyes.
The Village Review
Yu’s story is like a Noh play where the character goes through all kinds of emotions till it reaches the final climax, which could vary depending on what one chooses. Like the character of Misaki says that there is no correct interpretation of the Noh play, it could figuratively mean that the end of the story remains in Yu’s hands and what he decides to do. The film leaves an impact on the viewer and will make you think about it, long after its end.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Village is available for streaming on Netflix.
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