The Face of Another
Tanin no kao
Japan
1966
124 Min
Black and White
1.33:1
Japanese
Synopsis
A staggering work of existential science fiction, The Face of Another dissects identity with the sure hand of a surgeon. Okuyama (_Yojimbo_’s Tatsuya Nakadai), after being burned and disfigured in an industrial accident and estranged from his family and friends, agrees to his psychiatrist’s radical new experiment: a face transplant, created from the mold of a stranger. As Okuyama is thus further alienated from the strange world around him, he finds himself giving in to his darker temptations. With unforgettable imagery, Teshigahara’s film explores both the limits and freedom in acquiring a new persona, and questions the notion of individuality itself. —The Criterion Collection
Director
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Hiroshi Teshigahara (勅使河原 宏, Teshigahara Hiroshi?, January 28, 1927 – April 14, 2001) was an avant-garde Japanese filmmaker.
He was born in Tokyo, son of Sofu Teshigahara, founder and grand master of the the Sogetsu School of ikebana. He graduated in 1950 from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and directed his first film, Pitfall (1962), in collaboration with author Kōbō Abe and musician Tōru Takemitsu. The film won the NHK New Director’s award, and throughout the 1960s, he continued to collaborate on films with Abe and Takemitsu while simultaneously pursuing his interest in ikebana and sculpture on a professional level.
In 1965, the Teshigahara/Abe film Woman in the Dunes (1964) was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1972, he worked with Japanese researcher and translator John Nathan to make the movie Summer Soldiers, a film set during the Vietnam War about American deserters living on the fringe… read more
Wall
Displaying 4 of 19 wall posts.
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
4May12
Best known for his 1964 masterpiece of existential dread, Hiroshi Teshigahara has developed quite the cult following among film buffs despite being silent for decades; devoting his life to leading his family’s flower arranging school. There is a similarity between the arrangement of flowers and the direction of a film. Both art forms require a strong sense of composition, placement, and space. His films have a strong compositional sense, boasting almost obsessive framing and camerawork. He is both rigid and fluid. In The Face of Another, Teshigahara, again collaborating with novelist Kobo Abe, returns again to the theme of identity. The main character Mr. Okuyama is a businessman whose face has been scarred in some sort of horrible industrial accident. He finds himself under the care of an eccentric psychiatrist who fashions a new face for him, and allows him to assume a totally new identity. The angst of post-war Japan permeates the film, and Teshigahara be it nuclear anxiety to social anxiety to sexual anxiety. The film is thoroughly entrenched in that late-60s alienation. Taking a cue from Kurosawa’s corporate thrillers like High and Low, most of the action takes place in the apartments and streets of modern Japan, which are rendered to look like a sprawling metal spider of unfeeling modernity. The one exception is the surreal psychiatrist’s office which is an open space separated by glass panels decorated with designs. It’s a brilliant piece of set design, and certainly one of the most unique set pieces ever filmed in the cinema. The Face of Another, however, never really takes off. For some reason Teshigahara decided to insert another storyline parallel to Abe’s original. Though it is intriguing, the story of a scarred, but beautiful woman is never developed enough, and then plummets into absurdity without much build up or transition. The film feels almost half cooked. Whereas Woman in the Dunes fired on all cylinders, it seems here Teshigahara isn’t sure what kind of film he wants to make, and that hurts the production. But still, it’s a peculiar and surreal film, and should not disappoint those looking for something different. Watch it in a triple feature with Georges Franju’s Eyes without a Face and Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In for a couple different perspectives on the theme of identity, doppelgangers and body horror.
Franklinton Underground Cinema
9Nov11
Interesting that this was released the same year as Bergman's "Persona" - the only other film that I could think of that reaches so deeply into the psychology of existentialism.
Lia likes this
Mr. Arkadin
2Nov11
The third in his collaboration with Japanese novelist Kobe Abe, Face of Another was apparently met with lukewarm regard (at best) at the time of its release. Repeat viewings reveal it instead to be his most startling, experimental, technically impressive film. Utterly modern, as well as utterly Japanese. Taboo-busting “existential science fiction."
Related Films
Fans
Displaying 5 of 510 fans.
Lists
Displaying 5 of 158 lists.
Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1
A Brave attempt
By Rohit on November 21, 2010
The movie gave me an impression that too many ideas were being crammed into the two hours and somehow the movie lost its charm towards the end. But nevertheless, the movie has its merits and maybe… read review
Forum
Displaying
2 discussion topics.
Simultaneous Watching & Analysis Week 11: Teshigahara’s The Face of Another
29 posts by 12 people
almost 2 years ago
Teshigahara's The Face of Another screening in NYC
1 post by 1 person
over 2 years ago
DVD
Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.
