DIRECTOR: Hamaguchi Ryūsuke
PRODUCER: Takata Satoshi
PRODUCTION CO: NEOPA
SCREENPLAY: Hamaguchi Ryūsuke
​PHOTOGRAPHY: Kitagawa Yoshio
EDITOR: Hamaguchi Ryūsuke, Yamazaki Azusa
MUSIC: Ishibashi Eiko
WITH: Omika Hitoshi (Yasumura Takumi), Nishikawa Ryo (Yasumura Hana), Kosaka Ryuji (Takahashi Keisuke), Shibutani Ayaka (Mayuzumi Yūko), Kikuchi Hazuki (Minemura Sachi), Miura Hiroyuki (Minemura Kazuo) 

​​FESTIVALS: Venice (Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize)

REVIEWS

“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

FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

​Timaru     
Tuesday, 10 February, 6.30pm ​

​Palmerston North     
Wednesday, 04 March, 6.00pm 

​Westport     
Wednesday, 11 March, 7.00pm 

​Bigger Picture Ōamaru
Tuesday, 31 March, 7.00pm

Tauranga
Wednesday, 15 April, 6.00pm

Auckland
Tuesday, 28 April, 6.15pm

Dunedin
Wednesday, 20 May, 7.30pm

Carterton
Friday, 29 May, 7.30pm

Wellington     
Monday, 13 July, 6.00pm

Wellington     
Monday, 13 July, 800pm

Queenstown
Tuesday, 25 August, 8.00pm

Whanganui   
Monday, 14 September, 7.00pm

Nelson
Wednesday, 14 October, 6.00pm

New Plymouth
Wednesday, 28 October, 6.00pm

​Canterbury     
Monday, 9 November, 7.00pm 
CONTEMPORARY JAPAN >> ​ ​