Evil Does Not Exist (Aku wa sonzai shinai)

Wednesday 20 May at 7.30pm

Ryusuke Hamaguchi | USA | 2023 | 106 mins | PG violence

A modern eco-fable that provides a gorgeous meditation on humanity’s relation to nature and an unnerving commentary on the price of progress.

“Set in a small rural village a short drive from Tokyo, Evil Does Not Exist follows taciturn woodsman Takumi (a splendid debut by Hitoshi Omika) as he is inadvertently embroiled in plans to bring a high-end glamping retreat to the isolated idyll. Not only is the single father’s placid daily life of wood-chopping and child-rearing set to be upended, but the entire village’s delicate subsistence is threatened by this urban intrusion. Explored in long, languorous shots, Harasawa seems to be a town outside of time, its residents living in gentle symbiosis with their environment. But the community is thrust into a very specific present when representatives of Tokyo company Playmode arrive to fast-track a ruinous project in order to take advantage of post-pandemic government subsidies… Hamaguchi slowly steers the film away from simplistic morality tale, imbuing every character with such generous empathy that passing judgement becomes as difficult as untangling the interactions between culture and the natural world. Beautifully lensed and deliberately paced, Evil Does Not Exist starts as a gentle stroll through a world of flawed heroes, complicit victims, and vacillating villains, before pitching towards a startling crescendo.” – Adrian Hatwell, Whānau Mārama NZIFF 2024