The Face of Another

Based on the novel by Kobo Abe, Tanin no kao (The Face of Another) is the story of an engineer whose face is burnt due to an accident at work as he is given a new face that would become troubling. Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and written by Abe, the film is an exploration of identity where a man is given a new face but would deal with what happened to him and the new face he’s given. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Machiko Kyo, and Kyoko Kishida. Tanin no kao is a chilling yet rapturous film from Hiroshi Teshigahara.

The film follows a man who is given a new face following an accident that left his face burned at work where he deals with the surgery and the changes his new mask gives him. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it is more about a man dealing with what happened to him and a chance to re-enter society only to feel more of an outcast. Kobo Abe’s screenplay doesn’t have much of a plot as it’s more of a character study on its protagonist Okuyama (Tatsuya Nakadai) who spends much of the first act either at his home with his wife (Machiko Kyo) or talking to Dr. Hira (Mikijiro Hira) who has been experimenting with creating new skin as he believes he could help Okuyama but is concerned about the Okuyama’s state of mind. The film’s second act would be about the mask based on another man’s face that Okuyama would wear but also recollections of a film he saw that is about a scarred girl (Miki Irie) who works with World War II veterans and is concerned about the idea of another war emerging. That subplot would also play into Okuyama’s concerns about his look when he was covered in bandages as he would go into a slow descent of intrigue and deceit into its third act.

Hiroshi Teshigahara’s direction does bear elements of style in its visuals yet much of the compositions that he creates are straightforward. Shot largely in Tokyo, Teshigahara’s direction play into this air of intrigue throughout the drama as it relates to Okuyama’s visits with Dr. Hira as he works in a room that is surreal in its surroundings as if the man himself is offbeat. The scenes in that film are either presented in a wide shot or in a medium shot with some striking compositions to play into Okuyama trying to get himself back in the world. Notably as he would walk around Tokyo in his bandaged state and later wearing the new face that he’s given where much of Teshigahara’s direction is straightforward yet showcases this air of detachment that would occur in Okuyama’s mind. The element of surrealism doesn’t just play into the office and rooms of Dr. Hira but also in the film that Okuyama saw about the scarred girl and her own journey that included her time with her brother (Kakuya Saeki) that would include close-ups of her face.

Teshigahara also maintains a low-key approach to the suspense during its second act as it relates to Okuyama living in an apartment where the superintendent’s daughter (Etsuko Ichihara) believes there is something weird about him. Even as Okuyama starts to go into places in his new mask that he has to wear for 12 hours as he ponders if those who know him recognize him or know anything about him. Its third act would play into Okuyama taking advantage of his new identity but also play into his descent into the air of immorality that would parallel with the journey of the scarred girl feeling lost over her own place in the world. Even as the film would have Teshigahara use surrealism to play into this dark world that Okuyama and Dr. Hira would create as the latter becomes concerned over what he created while the former would relish in his new discovery of immorality. Overall, Teshigahara crafts a haunting yet engrossing film about a man who gets a new face that would later shape his identity and state of mind.

Cinematographer Hiroshi Segawa does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its usage of natural lighting for scenes in the day as well as some vibrant and eerie textures in the lighting courtesy of Mitsuo Kume. Editor Yoshi Sughihara does excellent work with the editing as it has some unique rhythmic cuts including a few jump-cuts to play into the drama and surrealist moments of the film. Art directors Masao Yamazaki and Arata Isozaki, with set decorator Kenichiro Yamamoto, do amazing work with the look of the apartments that Okuyama lived in as well as the place that Dr. Hira works at.

Costume designer Tamiko Moriya does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the clothes the characters wear. The makeup work of Tachiro Akiyama does fantastic work with the look of the mask and its design as well as the scar on the girl in the story within the film. The sound work of Junosuke Okuyama is superb for its low-key approach to sound as well as capture sound in its natural settings. The film’s music by Toru Takemitsu is incredible for its mixture of dense and low-sounding percussive textures to play into the mystery and drama along with a more traditional orchestral-based score for the story within the film.

The film’s wonderful cast feature some notable small roles and performances from Eiko Muramatsu as a secretary at the place where Okuyama worked at, Eiji Okada as Okuyama’s boss, Hisashi Igawa as a man with the mole on his face who is paid money to have his face used as the prototype for the mask that Okuyama wears, Kunie Tanaka as a mental hospital patient, Minoru Chiaki as the building superintendent who gives Okuyama an apartment to live in, Etsuko Ichihara as the superintendent’s daughter who likes to play with yo-yos, Kakuya Saeki as the scarred girl’s brother, and Miki Irie in a terrific performance as the scarred girl who deals with her deformity and worries about the world believing that Japan is going to war again. Kyoko Kishida is fantastic as the nurse who aids Dr. Hira in the surgery as she is sort of the film’s conscience as she raises concern about what Dr. Hira is doing as well as being aware that his mysterious wife is watching them.

Machiko Kyo is excellent as Okuyama’s wife who would take care of him for much of the first act as she is concerned with what is happening to him as she doesn’t appear for the second act only to re-emerge later in the third where she would encounter her husband in his new identity. Mikijiro Hira is brilliant as Dr. Hira as a surgeon who performs the surgery as he is also a psychologist as he tries to help Okuyama with his new identity but also deal with his own actions as he becomes conflicted in his accomplishments and the drawbacks it might bring. Finally, there’s Tatsuya Nakadai in a phenomenal performance as Okuyama as an engineer whose face is burned by an accident at his job as he would get a new mask as it’s an eerie performance from Nakadai when he’s covered in bandages while the mask he would put on would add a layer of discomfort into his performance as someone that starts to descend into madness.

Tanin no kao is a spectacular film from Hiroshi Teshigahara that features an incredible leading performance from Tatsuya Nakadai. Along with its ravishing visuals, top-notch ensemble cast, Toru Takemitsu’s intoxicating music score, and study of identity, it’s a film that explore a man trying to get a new face only to lose aspects of himself while delving into surreal moments that play into his descent into madness. In the end, Tanin no kao is a sensational film from Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Hiroshi Teshigahara Films: Pitfall - Woman in the Dunes - (The Man Without a Map) – (Summer Soldiers) – Antonio Gaudi - (Rikyu) – (Princess Goh)

© thevoid99 2019

2016 Cannes Marathon: Woman in the Dunes

(Jury Prize Winner at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and written by Kobo Abe that is based on his novel, Woman in the Dunes is the story of an entomologist who finds himself being tricked to live in a village as he shares his home with a woman. The film is a look into a world where people live inside sand dunes where a man tries to escape only to be drawn by the woman he lives with. Starring Eiji Okada and Kyoko Kishida. Woman in the Dunes is a haunting yet intoxicating film from Hiroshi Teshigahara.

The film is a simple story of a man who is sandy beaches to find insects where he misses his bus and is lured by villagers to stay at the home of a woman beneath sand dunes only to realize that he’s trapped. It’s a film where this amateur entomologist finds himself in a situation he can’t get out of as he lives with a woman who has been living underneath these dunes for years. The job is to dig up sand for the villagers where they would receive monthly rations as it’s a job that is hard for this man yet he finds himself attracted to this woman where a lot of things happen. Kobo Abe’s script doesn’t just explore the world that Niki Junpei (Eiji Okada) is living in but also what he has to do to survive as well as the fact that he is also assigned to impregnate this woman (Kyoko Kishida) though their attraction to each other isn’t immediate. The script doesn’t just play into Junpei trying to find ways to escape but also realize that he is at fault for putting himself in this situation all because he became too interested in bugs and missed his bus back to the city.

Adding to the drama is the growing sexual tension between Junpei and this woman as it would come to ahead though Junpei is married but never implies it in the film’s dialogue as he remains ambiguous to the woman though it is revealed very early in the film during a dream he has. While the plot is a simple one, it does have a structure where its first act is about Junpei dealing with his situation while the second act is about forming this relationship with this woman. Yet, Junpei still wants to escape and return to civilization as a key scene in the film’s second half is about the escape but it’s not just the dune that he has to escape. It’s the land itself as it offers a lot into a world that is removed from civilization and some of the harsh aspects of the modern world.

Hiroshi Teshigahara’s direction is ravishing not just for the visuals he creates but also for the fact that it is set on some of the sandy beaches in Japan. Though it is shot on an Academy 1:33:1 aspect ratio, Teshigahara still manages to create these gorgeous wide shots and extreme close-ups to capture every bit of detail that is in these sandy beaches and the dunes as they are characters in the film. Teshigahara’s camera would often show the look of this home that is surrounded by walls of sand as it feels like a world of its own where the camera would go for high and low angles to capture the landscape as well as some medium shots to play into the intimacy of the house. There is also an air of eroticism and sensuality that prevalent in the film as it relates to the sexual tension. Even as the sex scene is quite intense though it doesn’t show very much but still maintains something that is quite erotic. The film’s third act isn’t just about Junpei’s own failure but also the realization of the world he is in as well as the direction becomes more chaotic to display the people in the village. The film does end in an ambiguous note as it relates to Junpei’s decision as well as his own discoveries of what he could do for himself and this woman he lives with. Overall, Teshigahara creates a mesmerizing yet eerie film about a man living in the sand dunes with a woman.

Cinematographer Hiroshi Segawa does incredible work with the film‘s black-and-white photography as it play into vast look of the beach and the attention to detail in the way the sand dunes and some of the bugs are shown as it is a major highlight of the film. Editor Fusako Shuzui does brilliant work with the editing as it is quite stylish in playing with some of the imagery with its usage of wipes, dissolves, and jump-cuts that says a lot to the world that Junpei is in. Art directors Totetsu Hirakawa and Masao Yamazaki do amazing work with the look of the house that is shabby as it‘s partially covered in and around by sand with floor also sandy while the dune that covers it adds a lot to its look.

Sound recorders Ichiro Kato and Shigenosuke Okuyama do excellent work with the sound in capturing the way the heavy wind and beaches sound along with some of the sparse moments inside the home the characters live in. The film’s music by Toru Takemitsu is phenomenal for its usage of eerie strings to play into its sense of horror and drama along with textures in some of the percussive instruments to make things sound chilling along with some intense percussion pieces for one of the film’s darker moments in the third act.

The film’s superb cast features small roles from Hiroko Ito as Junpei’s wife in a very brief flashback as well as performances from Koji Mitsui, Sen Yano, and Ginzo Sekiguchi as villagers who would lure Junpei into the dune and keep him there. The remarkable performances of Eiji Okada and Kyoko Kishida in their respective roles as Niki Junpei and the titular character where they display that sense of sexual tension with Okada as a dominant who is frustrated with his situation and Kishida trying to make things better while showing him what they have to do survive as two together are engaging to watch.

Woman in the Dunes is a sensational film from Hiroshi Teshigahara. Featuring great performances from Eiji Okada and Kyoko Kishida as well as ravishing visuals and a haunting score. The film is an intense study of man and woman living together in a very cruel world that is cut off from reality but also says a lot about the cruelties of the world outside. In the end, Woman in the Dunes is a rapturous film from Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Hiroshi Teshigahara Files: Pitfall - The Face of Another - (The Man Without a Map) - (Summer Soldiers) - Antonio Gaudi - (Rikyu) - (Princess Goh)

© thevoid99 2016